Tim Howard, Landon Donovan predict USMNT deep run at 2026 World Cup

The U.S. men’s soccer team will play a World Cup game on home soil Friday night for the first time in 32 years.

The sport’s popularity in the United States changed dramatically following the 1994 World Cup, largely due to the Stars and Stripes advancing to the knockout round for the first time since 1934. This year may be a case of deja vu (the New York Knicks were in the NBA Finals the last time the United States hosted), because this year’s team is arguably the best in recent memory.

Team legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard don’t go so far as to say they’ll win it all, but they certainly aren’t ruling out a “magical summer.”

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“I’m not sure they can win. That’s probably true of about five teams in the world,” Howard recently told Fox News Digital. “But I think they can have a magical summer where they go on a run, have magical moments, late goals, somebody becomes the darling of the team and gets the attention of the media and the fans.”

“Obviously, a deep progression will help the momentum, especially since it’s in our hometown and just because it’s in America, more people will be watching.”

Both Howard and Donovan agreed that winning the group was the bare minimum, and then the knockout game could get interesting.

“The game against Senegal (a 3-2 USA win on May 31) could have been similar to the Round 32 game, maybe even the Round 16 game. There were a lot of changes, it was hot, neither team had been together for long yet, so I’m not putting too much into the outcome,” said a cautiously optimistic Donovan. “I’m just saying that you can play this type of opponent and this type of game. We can definitely win this game. And I can say that we are favored in games like this. Or at home, if our team is playing well…

U.S. soccer icon Landon Donovan helps fuel the excitement of a major international soccer tournament during the event held at Raising Cane’s flagship Inglewood location on June 9, 2026. (Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images) ((Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images))

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“Then you get to the Round of 16 and that’s where you get a Belgium or Portugal or someone like that. And it’s a tough challenge as we saw a month and a half ago when they played Belgium and Portugal and they fought hard. If that’s the spirit and effort that was against Senegal, we can definitely beat those teams too. We won’t be favored, but we can definitely beat those teams, no doubt about it.”

Howard said the U.S. must beat a “bully” in the Round of 16 if it wants to advance to the quarterfinals.

“On paper, this is easy. A lot of things need to happen,” Howard warned.

But both former stars believe it is possible.

“I think this is a really talented team. Can they come together, can they all play their best football at the same time? Let’s see. But I think they have the potential to do it,” Howard said.

USA goalkeeper Tim Howard plays during the game against Azerbaijan at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California on May 27, 2014. (Michael Burns/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

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But Donovan took a slight step forward.

“They are capable of doing this. I expect a strong advance in the tournament. I am.”

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