The U.S. men's national team is licking its wounds after losing to Mexico for the second time in a row under Mauricio Pochettino after falling in the Concacaf Gold Cup final over the holiday weekend. A summer that has yielded mixed results ended in disappointment as all eyes shift toward 2026 and a World Cup on home soil.
Given the notable amount of absences from this summer's camp including Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and more, fans had an added interest in who would step up, perform and make a name for themselves to be included come 2026. Names like Tyler Adams and Chris Richards are expected starters, pending fitness, but there were question marks around defense, goalkeeper and, most notably, up top. The latter isn't a new debate.
Even if the USMNT was at full strength, question marks remain around who will lead the line come next summer.
Tim Howard spoke to Sports Illustrated ahead of the Gold Cup knockout stage responding to which position, if any, is a point of concern this summer leading into the World Cup.
“Am I concerned right now? Yes," Howard says. "My soccer IQ says both fullback positions will be fine and solid. I think goalkeeper will be solid. I think it's still the No. 9 because what we don't know, which we do know about those other positions is, when the games are thick and fast do we have a player [like] a Brian McBride, a Clint Dempsey, a Jozy Altidore?
“You just need them to take over games. I've been in these games where we're saying 'Just help us somehow. We'll do the dirty work, but somehow get us a goal in the biggest moments,’ and they did it. I don't know if we have that for all of the nines we like, or come back from injury or are showing potential, we just don't know when we're up against it in big moments that we have a nine that can create those moments so that's still a concern.”
Patrick Agyemang got the majority of playing time this summer, but fans got their first taste of Damion Downs as he scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Costa Rica. As far as names absent, there's Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Josh Sargent. Then there's the likes of Haji Wright and Jesus Ferreira as well.
Many thought Balogun, a former Arsenal academy product, would be the answer after showing some glimpses last summer. But, no one has nailed down the position which has lingered since their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign.
READ THE LATEST USMNT NEWS, REACTION AND ANALYSIS
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tim Howard Highlights Biggest Area of Concern for USMNT Ahead of 2026 World Cup.
