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Tim Howard says it’s ‘impossible’ for USMNT to win 2026 World Cup

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Former U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard understands the early success this group has in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but he doesn’t think they will be hoisting any trophy by the end of the tournament.

In fact, Howard believes it’s “impossible” for them to win the World Cup.

“The U.S. cannot, unequivocally, win the World Cup,” he said on his “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast alongside former USMNT teammate Landon Donovan. “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.

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Tim Howard wearing United States soccer uniform playing in a game at Candlestick Park

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

“It’s literally impossible for the U.S. to win the World Cup. That’s just the reality.”

Donovan, though, was a bit more optimistic than the Hall of Fame goalie.

“Can we? Yes. Has this group proven they can beat a top team? No,” Donovan added. “If they play the way they’re playing, they can absolutely compete with any team in this World Cup. For sure.”

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USA WORLD CUP TEAM CLINCHES SPOT IN KNOCKOUT STAGE AFTER ANOTHER HISTORIC PERFORMANCE VS AUSTRALIA

Thus far, the USMNT has had strong victories against Paraguay, a 4-1 victory that marked the most goals scored by Team USA in a World Cup match. Then, they followed it up with a commanding 2-0 win over Australia this past Friday to notch a spot in the knockout rounds.

Donovan believes Mauricio Pochettino’s group is building momentum, which could ultimately help them make that Cinderella run.

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard standing on the field before a soccer match.

United States goalkeeper Tim Howard stands on the field before the CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Jamaica at Levi’s Stadium on July 26, 2017. (Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports)

“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,” Donovan explained. “But momentum gets going, you never know.”

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The USMNT still has one more Group D match to go, as they face Türkiye on Thursday, which will only impact who they will face in the new round of 32.

It’s a new format for the World Cup, as they expanded group from 32 to 48 teams has now led to a round of 32 instead of the usual round of 16. The top two teams of each group, as well as the top eight third-place teams, will be heading for the knockout rounds.

While this game technically doesn’t matter for the U.S., Pochettino will surely be stressing its importance to continue building on the momentum they’ve created throughout their first two matches.

Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic had an assist in the first half of the USMNT World Cup opener against Paraguay. (Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images)

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Also, the status of Christian Pulisic, the team’s superstar midfielder who sat out against Australia due to a left calf injury, will be under a microscope once again heading into the final group stage match. Considering the spot in the knockout stage is secured, it will be interesting to see if Pochettino decides to be cautious and sit Pulisic once more to ensure he’s ready for the elimination game.

Can they make a run in those games and shock Howard with a run to the final? The sky is the limit for this group that has made a statement thus far.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

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Twitch streamer Zoil allegedly artificially inflates Twitch subs by gifting himself anonymously, fans call situation “depressing”

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Twitch streamer Zoil, who has over 240,000 followers on the platform, has found himself at the center of a fresh controversy after a clip from one of his recent livestreams went viral online. During the stream, viewers noticed what appeared to be the streamer anonymously gifting subs to his own channel while he was live, leading to allegations that he was artificially inflating his sub count.

The moment was captured in a clip shared by X user @ChumBucketDrama, where the complete anonymous gifting part appeared on stream. The clip was later reposted by another X user @WyydoggWYG, who called the situation “depressing” by writing:

“this is depressing, the fact that numbers can get to someone’s head like this especially subs scares me.”

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The incident quickly sparked discussion on X, with several users criticizing the streamer.

“need to get attention some way I guess” X user @NoGiimmickz commented

“If you’re scared in any sense you’re child brained. The guy’s a ****** weirdo loser for this and needs to be bullied a bit about the situation.” Another user @areyous76505851 wrote

“i can’t tell if this was serious or not, but regardless isn’t this just a waste of money” Another X user @xy_ianni commented

However, not everyone believed the clip should be taken seriously, with some users arguing that Zoil was simply trolling.

“He was just making a joke gng calm down.” X user @jonathan90ygjt said

“Not only is he giving his viewers an ad-free stream (that’s what gifting subs does), but this could easily be a joke given Zoil’s streaming persona.” @kotp_joel remarked


Twitch streamer Nick “Nmplol” says he reached out to Zoil over the controversy

Zoil’s friend and fellow Twitch streamer Nick “Nmplol” also addressed the viral clip during one of his livestreams. He revealed that he had already reached out to Zoil for clarification before drawing any conclusions. In a clip shared by user @ChumBucketDrama, he said:

“Yeah, man, I’ve been talking about that all morning in my Discord. I actually reached out to Zoil to see if he has a comment on it before I get too deep into the topic. Hopefully he’ll have something to say.”

Nmplol went on to say that if the allegations turned out to be true, it reflected a deeper issue within the streaming community. He also encouraged creators to be content with their real growth rather than chasing numbers.

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He said:

“But my God, man. If that’s what I think it is, I’m just defeated. The deception runs so deep in this community, bro. My God, guys, just be happy with where you’re at. You know? If you need an uptick in numbers or something, just call me. I’ll come over, bro. Why do we have to be doing all this other stuff? It’s just crazy.”

Towards the end of the discussion, he added:

“It goes from the top, to the middle, to the bottom. It’s like, holy **** guys, how insecure are we? Just be happy with the numbers we get. We’re lucky to even have this job in the first place.”


In other news, Twitch streamer Zoil’s interaction with a veteran went viral earlier this year