14 years ago today Tim Howard had one of the greatest performances in World Cup history for the US men's national team against Belgium. As the USMNT prepares to take on Bosnia & Herzegovina tonight, he has a warning for the opposition.
Ahead of the game, Howard boldly declared that the Bosnia players might as well not even get off the plane or show up for the game because the USMNT is going to beat them so badly.
"Bosnia...they're better off not even getting on a plane and going to San Francisco, because the U.S. is gonna put work in against them," Howard declared.
That comment obviously didn't sit well with Bosnia & Herzegovina head coach Sergej Barbarez, who on Tuesday was asked about the comments. Barbarez responded with "Who is he? I don't know who he is."
Fans quickly admonished Howard for making such a comment, pointing out that he might risk jinxing the USMNT by saying that:
"Brotha couldn't just be humble and understand we look great so far but have so much to prove. Disrespecting another Nations team is not a good look," one user wrote on X.
"I love our chances and am confident we’ll get the job done Wednesday…. But what have the USA done, ever, to warrant this type of cocky attitude?" another asked.
"Quite disrespectful, there are no easy games in the knockout stages. Especially for the US who didn’t win a knockout game last WC, it will be a lot closer than he thinks," wrote a third.
© Steven Bisig-Imagn Images.
Stars & Stripes vs. The Dragons
On paper, the USMNT versus Bosnia & Herzegovina should be a mismatch. Oddsmakers gives the USMNT overwhelming odds to advance to the Round of 16 against the 64th ranked team in the World.
But between the USMNT's stunning loss to Turkey last week and Germany's loss to Paraguay on Monday, the USMNT really shouldn't feel like they're unbeatable.
Bosnia & Herzegovina had to go through a gauntlet in order to simply qualify for the World Cup, beating Wales and almighty Italy to get in, and nearly all of their starters play in top leagues at the club level.
At this point, Bosnia is basically playing with house money. They shouldn't be taken lightly.
