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Tim Howard has never been one to sugarcoat things. The former US Men’s National Team goalkeeper appeared on the ‘Unfiltered Soccer’ podcast with fellow USMNT legend Landon Donovan and delivered what might be the coldest take of the 2026 FIFA World Cup so far: the US winning it all is, in his words, “literally impossible.”
Howard earned 121 caps for the national team and once made 16 saves in a single World Cup match against Belgium. When he talks about the gap between the US and the world’s best, he’s speaking from the painful side of that equation.
The math problem Howard sees
Howard’s specific claim: the USMNT would need to play at their absolute best for four consecutive matches against elite competition to have any shot at lifting the trophy.
No US men’s team has ever advanced past the quarterfinals in modern World Cup history. The tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, which gives the Americans a home-field advantage that previous generations never had. Howard acknowledges that early success. He just doesn’t think it translates to the knockout rounds.
Not everyone agrees
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has expressed more optimism about the USMNT’s potential this cycle, apparently seeing something in this group that Howard doesn’t, or at least believing the home advantage and squad depth could produce an upset run.
Howard’s point isn’t about single upsets. It’s about sustained excellence across multiple rounds against teams that have been producing world-class talent for generations.
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