The success of the 2026 World Cup in the United States wasn't defined only by the USMNT's performance on the pitch, but by the growth of the sport in the country where American football is king. The United States was a co-host of the tournament with Mexico and Canada.
Former USMNT stars Tim Howard and Landon Donovan were prepared to **** ist fans old and new with the nuances of the beautiful game through their "Unfiltered Soccer" podcast, which has 92,000 subscribers on YouTube and releases a new episode every Tuesday on major streaming platforms. The two National Soccer Hall of Famers were teammates for several years and played together at the 2010 World Cup, where Donovan famously had the stoppage time goal against Algeria to send the side to the round of 16. It was the last time the United States won their group before doing so again this summer.
This year, the USMNT was kicked out of the round of 16 via a 4-1 dismantling at the hands of Belgium, the team that the United States lost to in the 2014 tournament and Howard had his record 16 saves. The recent match had added tension around a rescinded red card to the United States' leading scorer Folarin Balogun. It had an audience of 30 million viewers on FOX, which made it the most-watched soccer telecast in United States history.
"I think this was a successful World Cup for our US men's national team on the field," Howard said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports. "I do. They did some really good things, and of course, stumbling at that hurdle hurts. It was always going to hurt whenever whenever the team went out. But they could be proud of themselves, and they had a really good tournament."
The World Cup, which had an added round with the expanded field of 48 teams, broke the attendance record in group play and finished with 6.8 million fans watching a match in person. Spain won its first men's World Cup since 2010 and Kylian Mbappé was the first player to win the Golden Boot back-to-back. The French star broke the record for most World Cup goals all-time, which was first passed by Lionel Messi during the tournament.
#states #time
Former USMNT stars Tim Howard and Landon Donovan were prepared to **** ist fans old and new with the nuances of the beautiful game through their "Unfiltered Soccer" podcast, which has 92,000 subscribers on YouTube and releases a new episode every Tuesday on major streaming platforms. The two National Soccer Hall of Famers were teammates for several years and played together at the 2010 World Cup, where Donovan famously had the stoppage time goal against Algeria to send the side to the round of 16. It was the last time the United States won their group before doing so again this summer.
This year, the USMNT was kicked out of the round of 16 via a 4-1 dismantling at the hands of Belgium, the team that the United States lost to in the 2014 tournament and Howard had his record 16 saves. The recent match had added tension around a rescinded red card to the United States' leading scorer Folarin Balogun. It had an audience of 30 million viewers on FOX, which made it the most-watched soccer telecast in United States history.
"I think this was a successful World Cup for our US men's national team on the field," Howard said in an interview with USA TODAY Sports. "I do. They did some really good things, and of course, stumbling at that hurdle hurts. It was always going to hurt whenever whenever the team went out. But they could be proud of themselves, and they had a really good tournament."
The World Cup, which had an added round with the expanded field of 48 teams, broke the attendance record in group play and finished with 6.8 million fans watching a match in person. Spain won its first men's World Cup since 2010 and Kylian Mbappé was the first player to win the Golden Boot back-to-back. The French star broke the record for most World Cup goals all-time, which was first passed by Lionel Messi during the tournament.
#states #time
9 days ago
