The ex-Liverpool and England defender spoke to GOAL for Mic'd Up, on soccer in America, U.S. releasing players to clubs, and Man City charges

Jamie Carragher knows how big the next 18 months could be for American soccer. With the World Cup due to kick off in North America in 2026, and the U.S. men's national team hiring an elite coach to carry them through it, the former England and Liverpool centerback says it's time to start paying attention to football in the United States.

"It just feels now that America's in a completely different space in terms of soccer, how it sees the game. It will be an amazing World Cup, I can't actually wait for it," he tells GOAL from Miami, where he's enjoying the most brief of respites from an overloaded sporting calendar.

Carragher has started new podcast, It's Called Soccer, co-hosted with NBC's Rebecca Lowe and long-time Sky Sports colleague and Premier League rival Gary Neville. But after enjoying a vacation in the U.S., he can feel the buzz in the country around the sport. Everything is getting real.

"It's been a bit of an eye-opener. I'm getting stopped a little bit in the streets in Miami and Chicago… you're going to the shopping center and people are just pulling me over," Carragher said.

Life in anonymity is no longer an option for the ex-Liverpool man, whose success as a pundit on CBS's Champions League coverage has eclipsed even his reputation as a footballer – especially stateside.

Still, for all of the heightened attention in America, he remains a personality very much grounded in the Premier League. MLS may be on his Twitter feed, but his deeper focus is on the competitions in Europe.

Carragher opens up on Mauricio Pochettino, the USMNT and Manchester City's alleged violation of Premier League rules in the first edition of Mic'd Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US will tap into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.

Getty ImagesOn Pochettino

GOAL: Mauricio Pochettino as boss of the USMNT… I'm wondering what your perspective is on his hiring?

Carragher: I think it is a great appointment. I think he's a great manager. I think more often than not, the top managers stay in club football, because probably they get paid more. But, you know, I'm sure that he's getting a few quid for the US National job, and good luck to him.

I think he could probably go alongside any international manager right now in the world. I mean, England just appointed Thomas Tuchel. There's probably not much between them. Tuchel has probably been a little bit more successful in terms of winning trophies.

I don’t think England should have a foreign manager. But for certain countries – and I'm not saying this to be patronizing to the U.S. – I think other countries that are trying to bring themselves up and maybe get to another level. And Poch is not coming in not just to get results for the national team. He’s coming in to influence the country, the coaching system, the junior teams, the women's teams.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesOn the USMNT's loss to Mexico

GOAL: What was your analysis of the U.S. loss to Mexico?

Carragher: I did find it strange what he did in the game against Mexico, in terms of sending players back (to their club teams) and not keeping those players together. They got beat 2-0, so I don't quite understand that. I understand we might say, ‘Oh, we're managing the minutes.’ But I think sometimes as an international manager you’ve got to be a little bit selfish, because the clubs are being selfish and you’ve got to look after your own situation.

And how many games, real top competitive games, will he have before a World Cup? And we know it's a long time away, but Mexico's always a big rivalry, isn't it? Mexico and America see themselves on a similar level.

So it's going to be a big game and a competitive game, and to send your best players back [to Europe] for that, and not see what your best team can do in Mexico? I’m not sure I quite understand that. But in the main I think it’s a great appointment, and it can only help the USMNT going forward to the next World Cup.

GOAL: It did seem he was playing his B team and some kids in the a hostile environments, no?

Carragher: I'm sure he'll learn something there. He'll get something from the game, and it'd be a great experience for those players who played. But I just think when you’re building something and you've just come into the job, you've made a good start in your first game, you want to build on that momentum. You want your best players around, letting them know what your thoughts are, your ideas, your principles, your tactical setup, what you would do in a big game. It was obviously a different level of competition to the first game, so I didn’t understand that one. It was a strange one.

GettyOn Manchester City's legal case

GOAL: I wanted to ask about Man City and the 115 charges against them for alleged breaches of Premier League rules. How do you think that gets resolved?

Carragher: You know what? I'm not sure it ever gets resolved. Because I think in some ways, no matter what happens, if City are found to be proven not guilty, I think most people in the country, certainly fans of rival teams will all believe they have done it – it's just that they've got the best lawyers. So it'll never go away.

And if they are found guilty, City will come out and say, ‘It was persecution from the Premier League – United, Liverpool and Arsenal don't want the new kids in town coming and taking their trophies,’ or, ‘that’s the world we live in.’

I'm just tired and bored of it, if I'm being honest. Some of the things City claim… sometimes I just can't believe… when they claim that they bring in more revenue than anybody else, like Real Madrid, and teams like that, I’m like, ‘behave.”

I know that myself in the media, if I do a newspaper article on Liverpool or Man United, the amount of clicks is going to get compared to City because people aren't as interested in Manchester City. That's not a criticism, that's just a fact. We know that from viewing figures on Sky Sports. If Man United or Liverpool play they go through the roof. If Manchester City, it doesn't move the needle. And again, it's not a criticism, it's just a fact.

We know those things. They’re facts. So for City to say that they bring in more revenue than some of the biggest clubs in the Premier League or Real Madrid is just a nonsense.

But we want it over. We want to be talking about football on the pitch. Manchester City, they’ve got an unbelievable manager, an unbelievable team. We want to get back to judging them as a football team on the pitch, but if they broke the rules that they signed up for as every other Premier League club did, they should be punished, and punished very, very heavily.

Getty ImagesOn the Champions League

GOAL: Who wins the Champions League? And why is it Real Madrid again?

Carragher: I don't think Real Madrid will win it. There's not that many options, really, if I'm being totally honest. I think you've got Real Madrid, you've got Man City. I think you've got Inter Milan.

GOAL: You rate Inter this year?

Carragher: I’ve rated them for a few years. I was disappointed that they went out last year to Atletico Madrid because I think they could have won it. I think you have to put Liverpool in there because of the history of the club and playing at Anfield. They’ve got some great players as well.

I actually think Arsenal have got more of a chance of winning the Premier League than Liverpool, but Liverpool have got a better chance of winning the Champions League than Arsenal. I just think there’s something about Arsenal.

Liverpool grow in the Champions League, I think Arsenal play smaller. They’ve never won the Champions League, so it’s tough to get over that line and have that belief from your supporters and players. They lost to Bayern Munich last year, just because of Bayern Munich’s name. Bayern Munich had a really bad season last year, and they still beat Arsenal in the Champions League. So you know what? I’m going to go for Liverpool.