United States men's national soccer team

PFT Commenter argued that Christian Pulisic does not seem to love playing for the national team and checked out of games.

“He checked out of two games, and he did the same in the World Cup in 2022. He just doesn't seem like he loves playing for the U.S. national”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 17:10

PFT Commenter called the Belgium loss the worst U.S. performance he had seen in years.

“That was the worst performance from the U.S. that I've seen in years. Just completely lackluster from the start”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 3:21

PFT Commenter calls Folarin Balogun possibly the best pure striker the U.S. has had.

“he's the like probably the best pure striker that we've ever had i know it's crazy to say that after just like four games”

Pardon My Take: Emergency Jaylen Brown Trade Reaction + Timm Woods And The Return Of Dungeons And Dragons (Jul 2, 2026) · Listen from 36:45

PFT Commenter notes the U.S. won as many World Cup games in 19 days as in the previous 24 years.

“I think we've won three games in 19 days. And we've won three World Cup games in the previous 24 years”

Pardon My Take: Emergency Jaylen Brown Trade Reaction + Timm Woods And The Return Of Dungeons And Dragons (Jul 2, 2026) · Listen from 35:25

Tim Ream says it was tough to hear former player Tim Howard say the U.S. cannot win the World Cup, but the players still believe.

“it's tough to hear from a former player when they come out with things like that”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 2:07:56

Tim Ream describes Pochettino as focused on connection and positive energy, including keeping a bowl of lemons on his desk.

“he always has this thing with lemons. He always has a bowl of lemons on his desk”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 2:04:09

Tim Ream says he took Pochettino's remark that the captaincy did not guarantee a starting spot as a challenge, not a slight.

“Honestly, no, definitely not a sneaky diss. I think it was more of a sneaky challenge than anything”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:55:41

Tim Ream says the team's aggressive style under the current staff is unlike anything the national team has previously experienced.

“The evolution of where we were to where we are now and how aggressive we are is so very different to anything that we've ever experienced with the national team”

Pardon My Take: NBA Draft, Giannis To The Heat, Wyndham Clark, USMNT Team Captain Tim Ream + Mt Rushmore Of Hard To Spell Words (Jun 24, 2026) · Listen from 1:52:42

Dabbundo predicts the U.S. will win its group, reach the World Cup quarterfinals and lose to Spain.

“US is going to make the quarterfinals and lose to Spain. That is my official prediction”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: NBA Draft Questions, Harper vs. Fox, and the USMNT’s World Cup Ceiling (Jun 19, 2026) · Listen from 2:05:31

Dabbundo argues U.S. soccer's progress depends on developing more solid everyday players like Chris Richards rather than superstars.

“it's not about having all the superstars in Europe. It's about having more of Chris Richards”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: NBA Draft Questions, Harper vs. Fox, and the USMNT’s World Cup Ceiling (Jun 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:40:54

Dabbundo says Christian Pulisic is one of the few U.S. players who cannot be replaced like for like.

“there are only one or two players that the US can't truly replace. And he's one of them”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: NBA Draft Questions, Harper vs. Fox, and the USMNT’s World Cup Ceiling (Jun 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:35:17

Dabbundo argues injuries, not character, explain the U.S. golden generation's underperformance, and he is buying the healthier team.

“the number one reason is that this group of players, this core group, you could talk about the heart, all these other things, they have not been healthy”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: A Knicks Miracle (and an All-Time Spurs Collapse), a Mini-Mailbag, and a World Cup Preview | With Joe House, Kirk Goldsberry, Anthony Dabbundo, and Cousin Sal (Jun 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:41

Simmons called the 2002 U.S. World Cup team the best American team, citing its toughness.

“When we talk about best American teams, that's clearly the best team we've had”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: Kawhi in Flux, Embiid’s Next Team, Jaylen vs. Advanced Numbers, and a Mini-Mailbag With Joe House (Jul 9, 2026) · Listen from 1:47:23

Simmons says the U.S. win over Paraguay he attended was the best American World Cup game he has seen.

“I saw the best American soccer game we've ever played in the world cup”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: Why Brunson Is Top 50 All Time, a Finals Mega-Mailbag, and NBA Fake Trade Season With Joe House (Jun 15, 2026) · Listen from 1:54:49

House criticized relying on 38-year-old Tim Ream in the loss to Belgium.

“This dude's 38 freaking years old. He's a big man, but the 6'4 guy from Belgium just jumped over him”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: Kawhi in Flux, Embiid’s Next Team, Jaylen vs. Advanced Numbers, and a Mini-Mailbag With Joe House (Jul 9, 2026) · Listen from 1:46:42

House said the U.S. team had become must-see TV after dominating Paraguay and named McKinney as its key player.

“This is because of how dominant U.S. was against Paraguay and the eye-opening reaction by the soccer community”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: The Giannis Never-Trade and a Mega-Mailbag With Zach Lowe, Plus Wyndham Clark’s Second U.S. Open Title With Joe House (Jun 22, 2026) · Listen from 1:49:38

Twellman said failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup changed Pulisic's trajectory with the national team, though he believes Pulisic cares.

“Failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup really hurt Christian Pulisic. And I think that has changed the trajectory of him with the national team”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:09:21

Twellman argued Pochettino did not get enough time, since judging an international manager requires at least two full years.

“in order to fully understand observe, and I would say, objectively critique a national team international manager, you have to have a full two years”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 2:06:42

Lineker says criticism of Pulisic is unfair because his abilities were overhyped; he is very good but not world-class.

“he's a very good footballer, but he's not a great player. He's not one of the best in the world by a long stretch”

Pod Save America: Can Soccer Save the World? (Jul 12, 2026) · Listen from 19:31

Katz argued that the U.S. is simply bad at soccer and that this is acceptable given its strength in other sports.

“What if we just suck at soccer? Like, we just suck at soccer. That's okay. We have so many fucking awesome things”

Pardon My Take: Matthew And Brady Tkachuk, Taylor Twellman Talking World Cup, USMNT Sucks At Soccer Again + Mt Rushmore of Aquatic Animals (Jul 8, 2026) · Listen from 10:28

Vietor suggests Trump may be taking credit for an outcome that U.S. Soccer's planned appeal had already set in motion.

“there's a chance here that Trump is taking credit for something that was already in motion, which is something presidents get to do, good or bad”

Pod Save America: Trump Works the FIFA Refs (Jul 7, 2026) · Listen from 8:47

Hank Lockwood maintains he has always been open about not caring about soccer rather than disliking the U.S. team.

“I have been so honest, upfront, and since the day this show was started, I do not care about soccer”

Pardon My Take: Caleb Williams, Joel Klatt, USMNT Loses To Turkey, National Sports Podcast Rapid Fire, Mt Rushmore Of Household Appliances + Fyre Fest Of The Week (Jun 26, 2026) · Listen from 14:20

Roger Bennett calls the current U.S. squad the best collection of individual players the country has had.

“This is the best individual set of footballers we've ever had”

Pardon My Take: World Cup With Roger Bennett, 2X National Champ Alex Karaban, Knicks Parade, Ronaldo vs Messi And Fyre Fest Of The Week (Jun 19, 2026) · Listen from 49:52

Cousin Sal believes the U.S. odds to reach the round of 16 are badly inflated by public betting.

“I think that number that you just read, minus 130, it probably should be plus 140”

The Bill Simmons Podcast: A Knicks Miracle (and an All-Time Spurs Collapse), a Mini-Mailbag, and a World Cup Preview | With Joe House, Kirk Goldsberry, Anthony Dabbundo, and Cousin Sal (Jun 11, 2026) · Listen from 1:14:37