Secretary of Defense: Tim Howard Talks USMNT, Mikel Arteta and a Vital Save

During his time on the soccer field, Tim Howard made plenty of big saves. Whether you remember him from his time in the Premier League, primarily with Everton, or his more than 120 appearances for the United States Men's National Team, which included a place in the starting 11 in the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, he was someone that you could rely on when things got tough.

But the New Jersey native isn't only familiar with saves on the field. He recently partnered with BeOne Medicines' "One Save Changes Everything," which hits close home for more than just the nature of his job.

"'One Save Changes Everything,' and it was sort of applied when my grandfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer," Howard told Newsweek. "He was, as you can imagine, the patriarch of our family. Everything ran through him. And so, as a family, we had to rally as his family, as his community. He was so used to doing everything. So even though we were always together as a family with my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandmother, we still had to pick up the slack and do the normal everyday things, the cooking and the cleaning. But it was also just being there with him, feeling like he could have a sense of normality sitting on the couch watching sports, hockey in particular with him."

"And so that was important to our family. And with BeOne, we also realized progress happens when people show up when they work together. Particularly in the moments when it counts, and so that was my journey and it felt so close to home with this partnership and that’s why it was important."

That reality-working together as a team, especially when there are tough moments-makes sense to anyone who has played a sport. Howard is no exception.

"The hope is that people realize that cancer care isn’t a singular moment," he added. “It’s every day working together behind the scenes, the doctors, the researchers, the techs. It’s very similar, as I mentioned, about being on a team. It’s the small moments that nobody sees that creates this momentum and ultimately creates the progress. And so trying to get that word out, that message that people realized that. You know, at Bonesave.com, there’s so much information there about all the things that we’re doing to try and create a better place for families and people who are dealing with cancer."

Making Big Saves for the USMNT

When you think of Howard's on-field heroics, it's tough to look past his play against Belgium during the 2014 World Cup. While the United States lost to Belgium 2-1 in extra time, the keeper set a World Cup record with 16 saves on the day.

Unsurprisingly, he knows that day well, even if the specifics are something of a blur.

"I don’t ever remember thinking it was going to be one of those [busy] days. And had I thought that, I would have been very scared for what was to come," Howard recalled. "It was a blur of a moment. It was a blur of a two hours. And so much so that as history tells us, I broke the record for most saves in the World Cup. I was interviewed directly after the game…by Jeremy Schaap, and his first question, he led with, ‘How does it feel to break the World Cup record for most saves?' And honestly, I was so sort of glossed over, I didn’t know what he meant. I didn’t know who or what he was talking about, because I didn’t know if I made two saves or four saves, let alone 16.

"It was just one of those days where it all came together for me. I felt my team played fabulous. We played against an absolutely world-class team and our guys gave everything, and it was a pretty cool, special moment. An almost moment [where] we nearly did the unthinkable."

That performance also came against the background of representing the United States on the world stage, which adds a bit more meaning to the equation.

So what did suiting up to the national team mean for Howard?

"Any soccer player anywhere in the world, no matter who they play for, their one outstanding dream is to pull on the shirt of their national team. That’s it,” he said. “They can do other things in the game and they can be amazing and they could be brilliant. That’s the one thing they want to do.

"I remember my first cap in 2002 and obviously going to three World Cups and all the great events that happened to myself and my teammates during those World Cups. It’s everything. It’s literally for some players, a once in a lifetime; maybe a couple of times, but it never gets old. You don’t go to another World Cup or play in another game and think ‘Oh, this is just what I’m supposed to do.’ It means so much every single time, and we’ll see that in the summer."

But with great stakes come great pressure, and that's especially true when you're the last line of defense preventing an opposition goal. In Howard's mind, you can't pretend that a World Cup isn't special, but you also can't be swallowed by the moment.

"You use that momentum and that anxiety to get you through those moments," he explained. "But yeah, it’s equal measures of pressure and excitement and you try and harness it. I don’t think you get to that level without having the ability to perform in big moments. And so you realize it’s bigger than any other moment, but you’re also prepared to handle that and you just sort of go through your routine and your process and in that way you try and make it like every other game, just so you can get yourself to the moment and then instinct takes over."

Talking 2026 World Cup

Turning the page to this year's tournament, which will take place from June 11 through July 19 across the United States, Mexico and Canada, it goes without saying that Howard, 47, won't be in goal. He does think that the current USMNT keeper is someone to keep an eye on, though.

"Our goalkeeper, Matt Freese, he’s the guy I like," the former Everton man said. "He has the right temperament. He went to Harvard, so he’s got the right stuff upstairs and he’s got a brilliant body of work when it comes to the club side of goalkeeping. Can he put it all together when it really matters? I think he can."

And while on-field results matter-Howard thinks the United States can make run to the quarterfinals with an assist from playing at home-there’s also the question of what the World Cup will do for the state of the Beautiful Game.

The 1994 World Cup, for example, set the stage for Major League Soccer. Howard isn't sure if we'll see that same sort of monumental change, but he does believe there's an opportunity for meaningful change at the foundational level of the sport.

"Soccer in America is great, and it’s big,” he said. “It’s [as] vibrant as it’s ever been in 2026. So when you get to this level, the movement or the steps aren’t monumental. They’re small. In 1994, it was going to be monumental. Why? Because we didn’t have a soccer league, right? And so MLS was birthed from that World Cup. That is a seismic shift. We now are, we have soccer-specific stadiums and 30 teams and it’s incredible where we are. Our women’s team have won World Cups and Olympics in that time. We’re in a great place.

"But I do think with this World Cup being the literally the biggest sporting event in the history of the game, from a viewership standpoint, a dollar standpoint, butts in seats, this is going to be a huge, expanded tournament. So, there’s no doubt that the windfall from that legacy will be pretty awesome. But I think you’re looking more at the grassroots level and what these communities can put back into the youth level to sort of boost that up because I do think there’s going to be a lot of money and a lot of attention once [the World Cup] finishes and goes and we move on."

All About Arsenal

The World Cup may be a monumental event, but it's not the only thing on the soccer calendar. In the English Premier League, Arsenal just cliched its first title in 22 years, sparking emotional celebrations in North London and around the world.

One of the Gunners' key contributors this season has been goalkeeper David Raya. Analysis of the position can be tough-it’s cliche to say that no one other than a fellow keeper truly understands the challenges-but Howard has plenty of praise for the Spaniard.

"He’s won three Golden Gloves back-to-back-to-back, which is impressive,” the former Everton shot-stopper said. “They, as a team, are incredibly impressive defensively. But I sort of, even up until this year, I still said, ‘Oh, he was the third-best goalkeeper in the Premier League.' I had him behind a few others.

"And now I’m looking at it thinking, ‘No, not only is he the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, he could be up there with the best in the world. Obviously you have to be a good shot-stopper at this level. His lightning-fast reactions, he’s good with his feet. Now what does that mean? He can start attacks. He can also go really direct and really long, both feet. He sort of has everything in his locker. And then I think he’s a commanding presence. I think he reads crosses really well, he takes pressure off his team. He literally-this is hard to say because I don't often say [it]-it’s hard to find a hole in his game, he’s that good."

But the driving force behind Arsenal's upward trajectory has been manager Mikel Arteta. He's become someone of a meme at times-a behind-the-scenes Amazon series produced clips of motivational moments using a light bulb and other props-but Howard knows the man behind them; he and Arteta played together at Everton and is impressed by the job that his former teammate has done.

"That’s why I’m sitting here with you because coaching is way too difficult," Howard explained. "As a manager in the Premier League, you have to constantly be across everything; 24 hours a day, nothing happens at that football club on or off the field that doesn’t come across your desk or your phone. And that’s an everyday process. So imagine having to address this group of 30 men every day to motivate them to figure out what’s making them happy, what’s making them upset. It’s just constant. And by the way, when you’re having a bad day, nobody picks you up, right? If you’re a player, you can have a bad day, someone just rallies around you. When you’re the manager, you can’t have a bad day. You constantly have to be astute, you have to be stern, and that’s not easy to do.

"Particularly when you think when he came in six years ago, he’d never been a manager. He never managed anywhere. He was Pep Guardiola's number two for a couple years. That’s it. And so there was a huge, huge risk that the Kroenke family went with, and it was a great decision."

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 7:30 AM.