USMNT’s dream path to World Cup final emerges but Tim Howard has stark warning

The United States men’s national team have gotten off to a flyer to begin their 2026 World Cup campaign.

On home soil, co-hosting the expanded 48-team tournament with Canada and Mexico, the USMNT have made it two wins from two in their opening group stage games.

USMNT have gotten their World Cup campaign off to the perfect startGetty

First came an emphatic 4-1 victory for Mauricio Pochettino‘s men over Paraguay with a brace from Folarin Balogun and Giovanni Reyna also on the scoresheet.

In front of a packed-out crowd at Lumen Field in Seattle for their second game against Australia, the States impressed again – even without talisman Christian Pulisic who continues to nurse a calf injury – this time with a commanding 2-0 win which booked their place in the knockout stages of the competition.

Although their potential path to the final keeps changing based on the latest results, with the route to potential World Cup glory only set to be finalized after the final group stage game has been played, as it stands, USMNT have quite a favorable draw.

And World Cup fever is rife across the States.

Following Ecuador’s goalless draw against tournament debutants Curacao on Saturday night, as it stands they are set to meet the South American outfit in a potential Round of 32 matchup.

Should they progress past that point and to the Round of 16, their potential opponents, as of writing, could be Mohamed Salah and Egypt, or the Czech Republic.

Already, there are some USA fans now dreaming of clinching the trophy for the first time in their country’s history – the same year they celebrate their 250th anniversary of independence.

That’s because the USMNT aren’t currently projected to meet a team ranked inside the top-15 of FIFA‘s World Rankings until the quarter-final stages of the tournament, should they go that far.

There, the States, who are ranked 13th in the world, would likely meet their first juggernaut in Spain — 3rd in FIFA’s rankings and one of the leading favorites to win the tournament.

The possibility of reaching a semi-final for the first time since the inaugural World Cup in 1930, therefore, would pose more of a challenge for the Stars and Stripes.

Pochettino has transformed this USMNTGetty USMNT both their opening group games and are on course to have a favorable run to the finalGetty

But if they were to potentially stun the European champions and progress as far as the semi-finals, there they would potentially be in line to meet perhaps the Netherlands (No. 7) or Germany (No. 8), who are currently both in their side of the bracket.

Of course, still so much can change with the World Cup currently only midway through the second round of group stage games, with one more to come.

USMNT ‘cannot unequivocally’ win World Cup says legend Tim Howard

However, USMNT legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have maintained a more pessimistic stance.

The topic of whether the USA could win the World Cup came up during the latest episode of their Unfiltered Soccer podcast, where Donovan expressed a positive outlook and welcomed the possibility of the national team going on a deep run in the knockout stages.

“Can we? Yes. Has this group proven it that they can beat a top team? No,” Donovan said. “But I tell you this, Tim, and I mean this, if they’re play the way they’re playing, they can absolutely compete against any team in this World Cup.

“I’ve said this over and over, can you do it four times in a row? Can you do it in a round of 16, a quarter, a semi, and a final? That is where it gets really hard.

Ex-USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard believes the USA have ‘zero chance’ of winning the World CupGetty

“But momentum gets going. You never know. Is it likely? No, it’s not likely.”

The former Manchester United and Everton keeper claimed it as an ‘impossible’ feat to achieve.

“The US cannot unequivocally win the World Cup,” Howard weighed in. “The US 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.

“It is literally impossible for the US to win the World Cup. That’s going to come across crazy. People are going to say I’m – whatever.

“That’s just the reality. But we’re super excited for this ride we’re on.”

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