The USMNT equalled a 96-year-old record and almost matched their best-ever goal tally at the World Cup in just two games. But a legend sees a ceiling to this team as the rest of the nation is beginning to dream of the impossible. Knowing what it takes to go all the way at the World Cup, the former pro is keeping the fans grounded.

The USMNT cruised past Australia on Friday and punched their ticket to the knockouts as winners of Group D. At an expanded 48-team World Cup, the knockouts begin from the round of 32, meaning the winner has to win five straight games to lift the World Cup after the group stages. This is where former icon Tim Howard believes they will falter.

“The U.S. will need to play the greatest game they’ve ever played three times in a row. Sorry, four games in a row! It is literally impossible for the U.S. to win the World Cup,” he said on Unfiltered Soccer in conversation with another USMNT icon, Landon Donovan.

True to the channel’s name, he was unfiltered in his opinions. “Australia and Paraguay are not good teams,” Howard said. “No disrespect because the whistle blew, and the U.S. had to win the games. So, hats off to the U.S. for, by the way, not even winning the games, [but] doing their job, and their job was to blow these teams out. And they did that.”

The USMNT were the highest-ranked team in Group D. However, their form before the tournament was slightly underwhelming. A defeat to Mexico at the Gold Cup in 2025 raised questions about their capability. They lost three of the four friendlies this year in the build-up to the World Cup.

Those defeats came against stronger opponents, but Pochettino’s team delivered when it mattered. They came out all guns blazing in the opener against Paraguay and won 4-1. The clinical finishing, defensive structures and, more importantly, the fitness levels of the players impressed everyone.

But according to Howard, the real test will only begin during the knockouts. Howard did give the USMNT a realistic chance of reaching the quarterfinals.

Can the USMNT really win the World Cup?

After the stellar win against Australia, the USMNT won back-to-back games at the World Cup for the first time since 1930. They have registered their best-ever finish at the tournament during the same year. In what can only be described as a bleak knockout record, they have only won a single knockout game in their history in 2002.

They have lost four times in the round of 16 and were eliminated in the group stages multiple times. When they last hosted the World Cup in 1994, they scraped to the knockouts as one of the better third-placed teams but lost in the round of 16 again.

32 years later, they will enter the round of 32 as group winners on home soil. They will face a third-place finisher out of Group B, E, F, I or J. At the time of writing, they are set to face Ecuador according to the BBC’s live knockout lineup predictor.

If they beat Ecuador, they will meet the winner of the potential clash between New Zealand and Czechia in the round of 16. It will get trickier if they make it to the quarterfinals. They are projected to meet European champions Spain in the last eight, and it will only get tougher from there on.

This is where Howard’s points hit home. They have to be at their best for multiple games. There are too many variables like injuries, referee decisions, and even luck that is completely out of their hand. So he is asking the fans to keep their expectations low and take it one game at a time.

Howard is also a staunch believer in home-field advantage. “People can discount how much being off the field helps them. They’re in their home country. They’re out in the streets. They go have dinner with their families, and people are there congratulating them. The game and the electricity takes care of itself. I do think they will feel this throughout the tournament,” he told Sports Illustrated.

The legendary USMNT goalkeeper was also impressed by manager Pochettinoa nd credits him with building an identity for the national team in such a short while.

“I give Pochettino so much credit because he had only had 18 months to build an identity, and that’s hard to do. An identity was the one thing we hadn’t seen in abundance with this group, with this current group, because they didn’t have to go through World Cup qualifying like the rest. This is what we’re seeing now,” he praised the camaraderie in the squad which could make a difference along with the home advantage.

With six goals in just two games, Pochettino’s young guns are just a goal away from matching their best-ever tally at a single World Cup finals tournament. They will have the luxury of resting their entire starting XI against Turkiye in their final group-stage match.

Backed by millions of hearts bleeding red, blue and white, the young stars led by the likes of Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun and Tyler Adams will give their all to be the last team standing at MetLife Stadium on 19th July.