Fans Bothered By Tim Howard Saying It's 'Impossible' For U.S. To Win World Cup

Can the U.S. men's national team win the World Cup this year?

After all, the American men are 2-0 through two games, having defeated Paraguay and then Australia. The USMNT will wrap up Group Stage play on Thursday night against Turkey. Then, it's off to the knockout round.

The furthest the U.S. men's national team has gone in knockout round play is the quarterfinals, which they made back in 2002. The U.S. has made the Round of 16 multiple times. But this year's tournament is being played at home, in the United States of America. And, with a talented roster and an outpouring of fan support, is it possible for the American men to go deep?

Tim Howard says it's "literally impossible" for the U.S. men's national team to win it all this year.

"The U.S. cannot, unequivocally, win the World Cup," Howard said. "The U.S. will have to play the greatest game they've ever played [four] times in a row. They're going to have to beat [four] world soccer powerhouses in a row… The round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, finals. It is literally impossible for the U.S. to win the World Cup… That's just the reality."

Landon Donovan, meanwhile, disagreed.

"Can we? Yes," Donovan began. "Has this group proven it? That they can beat a top team? No. But, I'll tell you this, Tim. And I mean this. If they play the way they're playing, they can absolutely compete against any team in this World Cup. For sure. Can you do this four times in a row? Can you do it in a round-of-16, a [quarterfinal], a [semifinal], and a final? That is where it gets really hard. But momentum gets going, you never know. Is it likely? No. It's not likely."

Soccer fans not happy with Tim Howard

Soccer fans might agree with Howard, though they think his comments were a bit harsh.

"I totally understand that's the truth but just bad timing as an American kind of a jerk move," one fan remarked.

"It's unlikely, but none of these powerhouse teams have strung 2 games together as well as the US has," one fan added.

"These kids look up to you. You know that they do… and you spew this garbage???? Buncha hasbeens," another fan added.

"Tim Howard you should be ashamed of yourself and saying stuff like that you don't know this team just because you and the us team back when you played couldn't do it doesn't mean these guys can't do it have some faith that's pathetic being an American or get the heck out," one fan added.

"Sounds like someone is just trying to bash this team because he's jealous he was never good enough to do this well," one fan added.

Where do you stand - was Tim Howard just being honest or did he cross a line with his comments?

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This story was originally published June 22, 2026 at 12:00 PM.