Tim Howard Q&A: Soccer Legend Talks USMNT Ahead of World Cup
Tim Howard is known as the best goalkeeper in U.S. men's soccer history.
The 47-year-old was known as the "Secretary of Defense" and is the most capped goalkeeper in USMNT history, making 121 appearances between 2002 and 2017, when he retired from international competition.
He was the starting goalie for USMNT during the 2010 and 2014 World Cup games, with the squad reaching the Round of 16 in both years.
Fast forward to the present day and USMNT has higher expectations than ever before. Led by captain Christian Pulisic, USMNT hopes to advance to the quarterfinals - and maybe advance even deeper - for its best finish in modern history.
Howard took the time to sit down one-on-one with Athlon Sports to talk about his expectations for Team USA, if Pulisic's goal-less streak - 21 consecutive matches for AC Milan and USMNT combined - is a concern and his partnership with Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, which will include an auction of his used gloves from the 2010 World Cup.
Athlon Sports' World Cup Preview magazine on sale now
[Editor's note: The following article has been lightly edited for readability.]
Athlon Sports: Let's talk about this upcoming World Cup. Obviously, a lot of attention on Team USA, high expectations. What is a successful cup run for them this year? What are your thoughts on them?
Howard: Such a good question. With the expanded field, there's an extra round. I think all of us have to reframe what success looks like with every team. Because naturally you have to win more games in order to get anywhere you want to go for this team, and I sort of have them going into the quarterfinals, which is I think, ambitious, but the breakdown of the group stages, and if you finish first and you then get a third-place team. I think the road or the journey there is feasible.
Now they have to do it, they have to put it together, a bunch of these guys. I think we have a good team. They've got to play their best soccer that they've played. They've got to come together, they've got to fight, they've got to do a lot of things. But I do think they have to beat a giant. I think if you get to the round of 16, you're probably gonna have to beat a world powerhouse sort of team, where you're a massive underdog.
If that's the case, I think quarterfinals could be on the cards, but you asked for success around a real good run through the group - winning the group, getting to the round of 16, having an amazing performance, a dramatic sort of game, win or lose, or getting to the quarterfinal. That's success for me.
Athlon: That would match their biggest success in the modern era. They've gone to the quarterfinals many years ago. What is the key for this team to reach its potential? A lot of attention is obviously focused on Pulisic, because he's the best player and captain. But how can they reach their highest potential? What is the key?
Howard: I think you hit on a really strong point. He's the captain, he's the focal point, he's probably our best player, but we're going to need to get world-class performances from Chris Richards - who I love - from goalkeeper Matt Freese, from Weston McKennie, who continues to put up those performances. Tyler Adams, talking about that base of that spine of the team, and then Folarin Balogun is gonna have to come up with goals, he's gonna have to get two or three goals. That's ambitious, because it's hard to score in the World Cup. But if that happens and it all comes together, I think we're in for a really good summer.
Athlon: Before we go back to Pulisic, because you just brought up the entire team, I want to tackle this topic real quick. Obviously, they're doing the reveal, but the news leaked out a few days early. News came out that manager Mauricio Pochettino let the guys who didn't make the roster know via email. Your overall thoughts on that, and your overall thoughts on the exclusions of certain players like Diego Luna and Taylor Tessmann?
Howard: Well, naturally in my history, we were always in camp. I don't know how or why things change. My point is, we would be together already post-club season, and then we'd have 30 players in camp, and then a few would get cut, and that would be sort of all in person. Things have changed, and they've expedited that process. There's no real good way to say it. I mean, it's sad that it gets leaked, but that's sort of how things work nowadays.
SEE ALSO: Can Mauricio Pochettino elevate USMNT?
I don't know the process of sending an email. I would imagine a phone call is probably the best way to go about it, but again, I don't know their process. As far as exclusions, the Diego Luna one is really interesting to me, because I think he has 18 games, which again have come under Pochettino. He's scored four goals and four assists, so a total of eight goal involvements. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find another guy in the last 18 games that has four goal or eight goal involvements. It's like, "Wow, he gets left off."
That was a surprise, I think it surprised a lot of people, but I also believe that when you get down to the final roster, managers sort of select positions 20 through 26 based on something like minor or special, like a set piece technique, or a really good penalty taker, or just a really good team guy. Those spots are sort of reserved for specialists, some coaches call them that, but this is no less surprising, because I think Diego deserves it.
Athlon: Like you were saying, 20 through 26 is picking guys based upon their intangibles. But with the whole Luna thing, that's gotta be the most surprising exclusion, right? That caught you by surprise.
Howard: Yeah, I think so. Listen, I'll tell you a secret - it caught everybody by surprise, when US soccer does a jersey unveil, and you have certain faces on the headquarters of certain companies, and all around Times Square, there's a reason why those faces are on that reveal. Because people expect - even within the organization - for that person to be on the team. It was a surprise to a lot of people, I can assure you that.
Athlon: Like you were talking about before, quarterfinal advancement would be kind of a successful run for this Team USA, so obviously a lot has to go into play with that. We'll see how Pulisic plays, but if he can lead them to a quarterfinal run and a strong group play, that'll do a lot for his legacy, right?
Howard: I think so. That's absolutely right. I think if they win the group, which they will, he plays well, there's a few assists, a goal or two, and they get rolling. I really truly think if they win the group, they get an easier - no games are easy - but an easier round of 32 game.
Without question, if he captains a team or leads a team to a quarterfinal, even round of 16 at home, the way that this World Cup is going to capture people's imaginations, yeah, he can definitely put himself sort of up on that start to get towards that Mount Rushmore.
Athlon: I know you were a goalkeeper, but I was speaking to Clint Dempsey last week, and I've heard your podcast partner, Landon Donovan, talk about this goal-less streak for Pulisic. Dempsey downplayed it. He said Pulisic just has to get one goal in, and it's not even in your mind anymore. Donovan said if he was going through it - he's been through similar sort of runs - he would be thinking about it a lot. Do you think it's in Christian's mind going into this World Cup?
Howard: Clint and Donovan have two different perspectives because they're completely different personality types. Christian will be hearing the noise, but it's not about hearing the noise, it's how you deal with it. How it affects him is going to be based on his personality, and whether he can block out that noise, and pretend it doesn't matter to him, or if it truly affects him and keeps him up at night.
Sometimes it's easy to say, "I'll let it ride and let it flow." But you know he's definitely gonna want to get on the score sheet before the World Cup starts, and certainly if that's not the case early on in the group stages. And if not, that begins to mount, that's normal. This isn't pee-wee soccer, this is the real stuff. It's all about his mentality, how he deals with it, and as you said, you mentioned you spoke to Clint and Donovan, the two greatest to do it, and they both dealt with it completely differently.
Athlon: Who do you think has the most at stake as far as their legacy in this cup overall?
Howard: I'll be sort of interested because he's dear to me is (Cristiano) Ronaldo. You look at Messi, they are the two greatest to ever play the game, and Messi has won the World Cup, and I think Portugal is sort of a darkhorse, if I'm being brutally honest. I think they have a chance, and what part does he have to play in that?
There's still magical moments for him to be had within the World Cup whether it's scoring goals, a late penalty, so there's some drama there with Ronaldo. He's the one for me. This is probably our last look at him on this level, and so I'm gonna watch him anyway, because I think he's brilliant, but I've been sort of like keeping one eye on that to see if this is the last hurrah.
Athlon: Who are your favorites in the World Cup? And if you had to pick one, who would it be?
Howard: Sure, I have Spain and France against the field. If I had to pick one, it would be Spain.
Athlon: What are you up to with Lysol?
Howard: Well, I may not be on the field anymore, but I know that after a long practice and workout, my clothes still stink. So Lysol laundry sanitizer is my go-to, and it kills 99.9% odor-causing bacteria and laundry. I know all about performing and all on the field stuff, so that takes care of it off the field for me.
Athlon: I saw the teaser commercial. You're a pretty good actor, man. You showed a lot of personality there. Do you feel comfortable on camera at this point?
Howard: Yeah, it's not bad. We had some fun with it. Anything in and around the game of soccer is usually bread and butter for me, so it was no issue. I got to celebrate goals and yell, and it was a little bit of a workout in there as well. It was fun, it was a good time.
Athlon: You're giving away your gloves you wore leading into the 2010 World Cup. Talk about that.
Howard: I think giveaways are always special. What's more special about that is match gear, and as a collector myself, I can appreciate those things anytime I have that opportunity. I love to not only share, but to get as well. So pretty cool.
Related: Athlon Sports 2026 World Cup Preview Magazine Available Now
Related: Christian Pulisic Q&A: USMNT Superstar Talks 2026 World Cup, Captaincy, AC Milan
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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 4:45 AM.