Howard appeared alongside former teammate Landon Donovan. The USMNT opened with a 4-1 win over Paraguay, the most goals Team USA has scored in a World Cup match, then followed with a 2-0 victory over Australia on Friday to clinch a spot in the knockout rounds.
The U.S. cannot, unequivocally, win the World Cup. The U.S. will have to play the greatest game they've ever played…four games in a row. Round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals.
It's literally impossible for the U.S. to win the World Cup. That's just the reality.
Donovan offered a more optimistic view and said momentum could fuel a deep run through the expanded knockout bracket.
Can we? Yes. Has this group proven they can beat a top team? No. If they play the way they're playing, they can absolutely compete with any team in this World Cup. For sure.
I've said this over and over. Can you do it four times in a row? Can you do it in the round of 16, the quarter, the semi, the final. That is where it gets really hard. But momentum gets going, you never know.
The United States still has one Group D match remaining against Türkiye on Thursday. With a knockout spot already secured, that fixture will only affect their round of 32 opponent under the new 48-team format, which sends the top two from each group plus the best eight third-place finishers into a round of 32.
Christian Pulisic, who had an assist in the opener against Paraguay, sat out the Australia match with a left calf injury. His availability for the Türkiye game remains a key question as Pochettino weighs caution against keeping the squad's momentum going before elimination play begins.
