CHICAGO — Eric Wynalda walked the bowels of Soldier Field ahead of the U.S. national team’s final pre-World Cup friendly against Germany on Saturday. Wynalda and other members of the 1994 World Cup team were being honored pregame.A few hours before the match, Wynalda, 56, entered the locker room and made eye contact with Tim Weah. Last year, with the current players feeling like older generations have been too critical, Weah, 26, went as far as to call them “really evil” in a documentary. He later asked if he wanted to clarify that sentiment and doubled down, saying he has no regrets. Upon making eye contact this weekend, Wynalda, now a pundit, walked up to Weah. “It’s all love, buddy,” Wynalda told Weah. “I’m not evil.”On the field before the game, the 1994 World Cup veterans were honored to rousing support from the crowd. Alongside Wynalda, among others, was Alexi Lalas, 56. The former defender is a long-time analyst on Fox, the face of the network’s studio soccer coverage. He can be divisive to fans and current players alike.“I don’t think that I’m evil, but you know, that’s my personal opinion,” Lalas said with a wry smile. “Maybe it’s better for people from the outside to judge.”For Wynalda, Lalas and all other former greats of the program who work in the media, they don’t mind the criticism.“I don’t give a crap,” Lalas said when asked if the pushback bothers him. “Really? No.”“It’s my job, it comes with the territory,” Lalas said. “I’m not always going to say things that people like or agree with; at times I’m going to be critical. I’d like to think I’m fair when it comes to this group.”USMNT players before their friendly against Germany (Daniel Bartel/USSF/Getty Images)Maybe it was always like this with newspaper columns and radio shows, but this era feels particularly saturated with former players in the media. There is more access and more platforms than ever before, and more interest in soccer in this country. A wide swath of U.S. Soccer former greats either work directly in the media or at least have podcasts. Wynalda hosts radio shows and has previously called games. Lalas is synonymous with Fox’s World Cup coverage in America. The program’s greatest-ever player, Landon Donovan, has worked USMNT events with Fox since he retired too. The 44-year-old will call games at this World Cup. Donovan and Tim Howard, 47, have a podcast together. Marcelo Balboa, 58, will work for CBS while covering the World Cup and is a veteran in the broadcast booth. Cobi Jones, 55, will also call games at the World Cup for Fox and Clint Dempsey, 43, will be part of the coverage, too.Tab Ramos, 59, has a podcast and is calling games on FIFA’s World Feed. Tony Meola, 57, has a podcast with Charlie Davies and Jimmy Conrad. Davies also writes a column for The Athletic. DaMarcus Beasley, 44, and Kyle Martino, 45, work on TNT’s USMNT coverage.Of the names listed, that’s six of the top eight all-time leaders in USMNT history for caps. Even the former coaches have a podcast together, as Bruce Arena, Gregg Berhalter and Bob Bradley are doing one for Fox this summer.“I wouldn’t appreciate it if I was them,” Wynalda said. “I just want to stay true to who I am.”On the pitch, before the 1994 group was honored, the stars of the past stood on the USMNT side of the stadium on the grass. The current stars entered the field for warmups and came to greet the 1994 group. After some warm embraces, the old guard walked off and watched warmups pitchside before being announced to the crowd one-by-one.