It’s not like Australians needed extra motivation to want to beat the US in their crucial World Cup group stage match.
But the constant sledging from a loudmouthed American pundit who even football-mad Aussies have never heard of has only made Saturday (5am AEST)’s match juicier.
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Mike Grella, who works for the CBS/Paramount TV group in the US, had a journeyman career as a forward and winger – playing primarily for lower-level English sides.
He made one single appearance in the Championship for Leeds United in 2010-11 but otherwise jumped around League One, playing for Carlisle United, Swindon Town, Brentford (well before their Premier League rise), Bury and Scunthorpe United.
After washing out of the Football League he bounced around Denmark and the USA, with the most notable period of his career coming for New York Red Bulls where he was a stalwart across the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
He once scored just seven seconds into a 2015 game, surpassing Tim Cahill for the fastest goal in MLS history – with his recent takes on the Socceroos seemingly taking about as much time to think up.
Grella never played at international level, except for some youth appearances representing the US, at one point blaming a lack of playing time at Leeds for him not cracking the national team setup.
Grella, who was also eligible but never in contention to represent Italy, has since primarily covered Serie A earning a reputation for hot takes.
But that has led to situations where even his TV colleagues, when Grella missed a show while sick, joked on-air that he “might offer more today than he does normally”.
He has clearly leaned into the divisive brand – trying to become something like the sport’s Stephen A Smith, Skip Bayless or Kane Cornes – earning himself airtime on ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show, and happily dishing out criticism of the Socceroos heading into the 2026 World Cup.
Pre-tournament, Grella infamously said the USA’s game with Australia would be a “lay-up”.
US pundit goes in hard on Socceroos | 01:22
“I’m not kidding though when I say this, what are they drinking over there because they have no shot of doing anything at the World Cup,” he said.
“They are the weakest team in the group. The US, although they have their weaknesses… they have like eight players in the Champions League and some of the top clubs in Europe.
“There’s no shot Australia can compete with the US.”
During those comments his colleague Troy Deeney could be seen laughing and trying to separate himself from the hot take.
And the US players have no interest in being associated with Grella either, with midfielder Tyler Adams telling Code Sports: “I don’t think any commentary helps anybody.
“And it’s not going to be a lay-up.
“I think it’s going to be one of the most difficult games that we play.”
Australian experts have hit back with Harry Kewell – who said he had never heard of Grella – pointing out the US can hardly point to a stellar World Cup history to back up all their talk.
“The USA is talking like they’re some unbelievable footballing nation – or soccer – nation,” he said.
“I would love to play their golden generation against our golden generation.
“It wouldn’t even be a contest. I don’t know what they’re harping on about, I really don’t.
“I don’t even know if they played soccer back then. They’re a new nation to it.
“I understand they’ve got the MLS, but to compete at the highest level, you need to be playing at the highest level and that’s in Europe.
“And back in our day, there would be only one team winning that game.”
The US hasn’t won a knockout stage match since 2002, when they lost to Germany in the quarter-finals, failing to make it out of their group in 2006 and failing to even qualify in 2018.
As for the Socceroos? They’re keen to let their play do the talking… and then rub it in when the doubters are proven wrong.
“I did see it,” Nestory Irankunda said of Grella’s comments.
“But at the end of the day, you’ve got to let these people talk – and it was the same with these lot (Turkiye) here. They came, they did their talking, but they couldn’t back it on the field, and we got the win.
“People can talk all they want – but if they’re not going to put a performance out there on the pitch, then there’s no point in talking.”