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In the dying moments of stoppage time against Paraguay, U.S. men's national team midfielder Gio Reyna stunned with a trivela finish, sealing a dominant 4–1 victory in the co-host's opening match of the 2026 World Cup.
The technical brilliance with which Reyna bent the ball was breathtaking, using the outside of his right foot to curl it beyond the outstretched fingers of Paraguayan goalkeeper Orlando Gill. Yet, for former USMNT icon and three-time World Cup goalkeeper (2006, 2010, 2014) Tim Howard, Reyna's sublime skill wasn't the most meaningful part of the moment.
"There was a togetherness that I saw, and that for me was important," Howard tells Sports Illustrated. "It was the way [manager Mauricio] Pochettino and the team sprinted down the field and celebrated. That showed me that there was a real spirit within the group."
Following Reyna's goal, the entire squad—including substitutes on the bench dressed in their bulky, dark-yellow bibs, and even Pochettino himself—rushed to the corner flag to celebrate as one, leaping and embracing each other. It captured a snapshot of a team with genuine chemistry and deep respect for their manager, despite Pochettino's Argentinian roots and a tenure of less than two years leading the Stars and Stripes.
"I give Pochettino so much credit because he had only had 18 months to build an identity, and that's hard to do," Howard says. "... [An identity] was the one thing we hadn't seen in abundance with this group ... with this current group because they didn't have to go through World Cup qualifying like the rest. This is what we're seeing now, and that's the sort of thing I'm looking for in the Australia game."
It is precisely the USMNT's newfound camaraderie—that togetherness Howard references—that has shaped the team's identity on the field. The U.S.'s style is defined by grit and passion, without question; but more crucially, their identity lies in their collective organization. Against Paraguay, the players appeared to operate as a single unit, moving across the pitch with remarkable fluidity. Their attacking sequences were deliberate and smooth. After all, it was a 26-pass buildup that culminated in Reyna's stunning finish.
For Howard, that togetherness will carry the USMNT deep into the knockout rounds this summer and, most immediately, will be the key to securing a vital group stage victory against Australia on Friday in Seattle.
"Australia is going to be formidable. They're going to be tough, and there's an edge and grit to that game, which we like," he says. "Ultimately, the U.S. is a better footballing team. We showed that against Paraguay. I think we will have really great moments against Australia ... I still stand by the fact that this team is going to win three group games. They beat Paraguay. They're going to beat Australia, and I think they'll beat Türkiye. That's my prediction."
Tim Howard Predicts USMNT's World Cup Finish
The Stars and Stripes' newly forged identity should have them performing at their peak for the foreseeable future, with Howard forecasting a deep run all the way to the quarterfinal stage.
"If they win all three group games and finish first in the group, their path to the quarterfinals becomes significantly easier," Howard says. "There's nothing easy about it, but their path can be much harder if it doesn't go that way. If the group sets them off on a good path, I truly do think they can get to a quarterfinal."
The USMNT has only reached the quarterfinals once in the modern era of the competition, during their remarkable run in Japan and South Korea in 2002; however, the squad won't be dwelling on history. After all, they already made some of their own last week, netting four goals for the first time ever in a single World Cup match.
The Americans also benefit from the energy of a home crowd behind them, electrifying not only the stadiums but their lives away from the pitch as well.
"People can discount how much being off the field helps them," Howard says. "They're in their home country. They're out in the streets. They go have dinner with their families, and people are there congratulating them, telling them 'good job' and that they are looking forward to the next game. You are sort of riding this high all week long, and then that carries into the game, of course. The game and the electricity takes care of itself. I do think they will feel this throughout the tournament."
And then there's Folarin Balogun. The 24-year-old forward is rapidly emerging as one of the tournament's breakout stars, netting a brace last week and coming agonizingly close to a hat-trick before the offside flag intervened.
"Folarin Balogun is the X factor for me. I mean, he got us two goals," Howard says. "If he can get another two goals in the group stage, he puts himself in another stratosphere, really. I've talked about him being a catalyst for this group. This group hasn't had an out-and-out goalscorer. They sort of shared the goals around, but if Balogun can be that guy, then I think we will have a lot of success."
In a match of near-total dominance, there was little to criticize. The only concern Howard could identify was the brief lapse in focus that allowed Paraguay their lone goal of the evening. Mauricio found the net almost out of nowhere just one minute after Pochettino introduced a couple of substitutes.
"What you'd like to see is when Pochettino makes changes, the team finds a rhythm much quicker because you don't want to give away those moments," Howard says. "It happens fast at this level, so after changes happen, being able to switch quickly [is important]."
SI answers is our AI answer engine trained on human-created content.
The USMNT faces Australia at 3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT on Friday at Lumen Field, aiming to claim the top spot in Group D.
Tim Howard spoke to Sports Illustrated as part of a campaign with Jim Beam, the official spirits partner of the U.S. Soccer Federation.