​NEW YORK — The only good thing about the World Cup ending is that it’s the last we’ll have to hear from Alexi Lalas.Hopefully.If this World Cup proved anything, it’s how far past his use by date Lalas is. His credentials pale in comparison to pretty much all the other soccer personalities and have little to no meaning to a good chunk of the audience. Being paired alongside Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović made his carnival barker shtick, already grating, glaring in its uncomfortable awkwardness.But with Fox’s media rights deal ending, there is a chance to start fresh! And if Netflix, which has the rights to next year’s women’s World Cup as well as the 2031 tournament, and whoever gets the next men’s deal are smart, they will put as much distance between themselves and Lalas as possible.Alexi Lalas became soccer’s version of PT BarnumThere was a time when Lalas actually added value to soccer broadcasts. He could break down the tactics of a game in a way that made sense to neophyte soccer viewers, and had street cred from parlaying his performance at the 1994 World Cup into being the first American to play in Italy’s Serie A.He also was instantly recognizable to people who dipped in and out of soccer, even if he no longer had his flowing red mane.At some point, though, Lalas decided what soccer needed was a WWE-style heel. Someone to stir outrage and serve up hot takes. All the better if done with smugness and at full volume.He branded the U.S. women’s national team as “unlikeable,” with no evidence to back it up beyond what’s in his own head. He glorified the chaos before the Copa America final in Miami, when fans rushed the stadium in what could have been a tragic disaster, as a sign of passion for the game. He has teed off on pretty much every U.S. men’s national team player and coach at some point or another, usually in hyperbolic fashion.And on and on and on.Soccer coverage no longer needs shtickThe problem with Lalas’ gimmick is that the time when it might have been tolerable, even necessary, has long since passed. Soccer might not be as engrained in American culture as it is in Europe or South America, but our embrace of the game has reached a level of sophistication that calls for a smarter and less bombastic style of commentary. The clown show is not only no longer necessary, it’s insulting.There’s a reason Rebecca Lowe, Henry and Ibrahimović have drawn such rave reviews during this World Cup. They don’t talk down to viewers or try to sell them the game like soccer’s version of PT Barnum. They provide intelligent commentary and analysis, and do it in a way that doesn’t condescend.Take England’s semifinal loss to Argentina after the Three Lions conceded two goals after the 84th minute.Lowe, Henry and Ibrahimović didn’t spout a bunch of cliches or launch a campaign to get Thomas Tuchel fired. Lowe said what everyone who was watching the game had felt, that Argentina’s goals were coming, and then