On a sunny and humid morning in New York City, former United States striker Jozy Altidore made it clear that he believes this USMNT squad can go all the way.
‘US is gonna win the World Cup,’ a smiling Altidore assured the crowd. ‘If you don’t believe that, then get out.’
There was laughter from those in attendance at an event put on by one of Altidore’s sponsors, Advil. After all, with teams like France, Spain and England in the tournament, what shot does the United States truly have?
In the striker’s estimation, it’s not as unthinkable a proposition as others may believe.
‘There’s a lot of reasons why I say that,’ Altidore explained to the Daily Mail. ‘You know, the elements of where the tournament’s hosted, just the current landscape of how soccer looks.
‘For a long time, you had to go through Messi at peak, you had to go to Ronaldo at peak. And if you look at the world’s game now, like how it’s structured with the top players, there’s no out-and-out guy that’s inhuman right now, right?
Former United States striker Jozy Altidore believes the USMNT can win the World Cup
Altidore, who featured for the United States at two World Cups, believes the team has a shot
Altidore also praised the US Soccer Federation’s friendly schedule to prepare the team well
‘These guys [Messi, Ronaldo] are at the end of their careers. And so I think it levels the playing field for everybody because it away that kind of extraterrestrial, right, which Messi was for so long and Eden Hazard was for so long, Cristiano and all. So that also goes into why I say that. I think it’s more even across the board.’
It’s possible the confidence comes from a group that sets up relatively in the Americans’ favor. The United States has played all three of their opponents within the past twelve months and beat both Paraguay and Australia, while losing 2-1 to Türkiye.
‘I think when you looked at some of the friendlies, you probably thought, what’s the thought process here? And then boom, you know, you look at our group and these are all teams that the players have seen at some point in time over the last couple years,’
‘So I think it’s essential. I think it’s a tough group. And in the World Cup, there are no easy group. So it’s going to be difficult for us to perform, but I like our chances. Again, we’re hosting the tournament. We’ll never have this opportunity [again], so we have to make the most of it.’
Altidore also weighed in on the controversial snubs of Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann that drew concern and criticism from American soccer fans.
‘Sometimes, depending on the coach, it’s about who’s the best group – not necessarily who are the best players,’ Altidore said. ‘I think maybe the public has to understand that when you’re thinking about these decisions… I think that’s maybe what the coach was thinking here.’
Part of the blowback was from Mauricio Pochettino’s decision to inform those who didn’t make the roster via an e-mail as opposed to a call.
While the public viewed this as something of a cold move, Altidore says he didn’t see anything wrong with it.
Altidore praised the job of Mauricio Pochettino atop the men’s national team
‘That’s the only way I got notified my whole career,’ he said. ‘So I was a bit perplexed by that. Even on the national team, for a number of years, I found out through an email whether I was coming into camp. So I thought it was pretty normal, didn’t think it was anything crazy, to be honest.’
All those decisions fell on Pochettino, whose future in US Soccer isn’t clear. While the coach has expressed his interest in staying at the USSF, he has also received plenty of interest from clubs in Europe.
While Altidore says he likes Pochettino ‘in theory’ due to his work with young players, he believes another coach could fit even better.
‘I think Pep Guardiola would be really interesting,’ Altidore says. ‘Because again of the project. For him, I think he’s a project guy and this is a massive project that is maybe going to take another 5 to 10 years.
If Pochettino leaves, Altidore believes Pep Guardiola would be enticed by the USMNT project
‘So I think somebody that has the capacity to look at all those things, but also I think it’s a great name, it’s a brilliant coach that obviously has done everything he needs to do at the club level. So I think it’d be cool for him test the waters in the international.’
Altidore will be watching this World Cup from a broadcast booth as he joins Spanish language channel Telemundo. The former Villarreal star says he never previously considered this role in the past.
‘I never saw myself doing broadcasting, but when they had reached out, I thought, what a cool opportunity to put myself in something that I’ve never done with a different group of people, a different culture, and I’ll have to really learn and be sharp,’ Altidore admitted.
I think in life you always got be putting yourself in difficult situations and making sure you improve. And so this will be a challenge, but I think a good challenge. And so I’m excited to get there.’
