Were Donovan and Howard right?
For years, Landon Donovan and Tim Howard have been preaching that this current iteration of the USMNT wasn’t as complete as the fans may have thought. Fans have complained that the “old heads” weren’t being supportive enough of players who were more talented and had achieved things those guys never did.
But after last night, I’m starting to think those guys were right. Is this team more talented? Of course. Do they play more competitive club soccer? Absolutely. But what was missing from last night was that grit and fire our teams are known for. Clint Dempsey played with a broken nose against Ghana. Tim Howard stood on his head against Belgium. There was an edge to those previous teams that was nonexistent last night.
So as a fan who wanted more support from the prior generations for these younger guys, I’ll eat my plate of crow for breakfast. They were right.