Mauricio Pochettino was focused on coaching the United States Men’s National Team into the knockout round of the 2026 World Cup.But Mike Grella, a New York native and former Leeds forward, was in the middle of a tense USMNT battle vs Australia on Friday night at Lumen Field in Seattle. Mike Grella didn’t make many friends in Australia this weekgettyGrella gave Australia no chance vs USMNT“Lay up for the US,” said Grella on CBS Sports, when it was announced in December that Pochettino’s squad would face the Socceroos in Group D action that featured high-priced tickets. Seven months later, that comment was still angering proud Australia supporters, who had turned the 39-year-old Grella into the ‘most hated man’ down under. “Ugh, the arrogance is astounding, Mike,” one fan tweeted. “I’m definitely bookmarking this and I will definitely rub it in when we beat you,” a second fan posted. View Tweet: https://x.com/MikeGrella10?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“Going to laugh so hard when you miss that lay up,” a third fan wrote. “Do Americans realise we’re thinking the exact same thing?” a fourth fan said. The 5ft 11in Grella weighed 179lb during his playing days and was selected by Toronto FC in the third round of the 2009 MLS Draft out of Duke.While he’s unknown to many international football fans in 2026, Grella compiled 11 pro seasons for 10 clubs.Grella says he deserves a statue if Australia winsHe played in 29 games (13 starts) for Leeds from 2008-2011, then bounced from Carlisle and Swindon Town to Bury, Brentford and Scunthorpe.A two-game run in the Danish Superliga was followed by four years in MLS with the New York Red Bulls and the Columbus Crew.Grella blasted Australia for having no chance vs USMNT in the World CupgettyGrella spent the end of his career in MLSgettyGrella totaled 186 career matches (116 starts) and 9,815 minutes played, while scoring 29 goals and recording 17 assists.But he’s now far better known for constantly blasting Australia — and not backing down from the attack.“I’ve got to tell you something, I don’t think they’ve ever been more united as a football side,” Grella said before USMNT kicked off vs Australia on Friday, which featured Christian Pulisic nursing an injury and Folarin Balogun hoping to continue his hot start in the World Cup. “If they do something in this tournament – which they won’t – if they do something in this tournament, they should make a statue of me there in Australia, because I’ve unified an entire country.”Fans blasted Grella’s arrogance in USA supportGrella acknowledged questioning himself about whether he’d gone too hard in knocking around the Socceroos.Then the former Leeds star said he took a closer look at Autralia’s World Cup roster.Coming to AmericaUSA has a golden opportunity to impress global football fans — don’t screw up the World CupHow the 1994 World Cup changed soccer in USA – from tourists in Italy to better than England and MLSRanking the World Cup venues – from New York to Los Angeles, a string of spectacular venues will play host to the 2026 World CupThe $9bn pitch built for Ronaldo’s last World Cup – ‘Forever’ grass, artificial sunlight and closed roofChris Richards Exclusive – the Crystal Palace defender opens up on his journey to the top, next stop a home World Cup for the kid from Birmingham, Alabama“I go look at their team and I don’t recognize any players,” Grella said.The hits just kept on coming from an unabashed Soceroos hater.“They’ve got no shot of doing anything at the World Cup,” Grella said. “They’re the weakest team in the group.”Former Leeds star willing to bet big on USMNTGrella said he would bet a “couple thousand bucks” on USMNT winning, then kept throwing public jabs at a team that stunned Turkiye with a 2-0 win in the Soceroos’ World Cup opener.“There’s no shot Australia can compete with the US,” he said.Fans heard those fiery words across the continent and let Grella know what they thought of his constant criticism of their team. Mauricio Pochettino was more focused on beating Australia than Grella’s wordsgetty“Typical American arrogance,” one fan wrote.“American bravado and self aggrandisement,” a second fan tweeted. “I hope the Socceroos spank them and spank them thoroughly.”Even an American chimed in to tell Australia fans that Grella was shouting on an island. “Hey Aussie fans, I’d say the vast majority of our fans do not feel this way,” one fan tweeted. “This dude is going for clicks here. We know it’s going to be a battle.”World Cup WhatsAppDon't miss an update from talkSPORT in our dedicated World Cup WhatsApp channel.Search for ‘talkSPORT World Cup’ in your ‘Updates’ tab on WhatsApp and we’ll drop the proper, unfiltered football chat straight to your lock screen—no fluff, just pure talkSPORT energy.It’s where you’ll find out all the new rules to watch out for, England and Scotland reaction and big match player ratings. Plus there will be loads of debates on the biggest talking points as Haaland, Mbappe, Kane and the biggest names in football descend on America, Canada and Mexico.Stay up to date on all things USMNT across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.All 104 games at the 2026 World Cup this summer will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.