'Every game has to be viewed as life or death' - Tim Howard, Landon Donovan emphasize importance of friendlies for USMNT's World Cup preparation

The USMNT are set to play friendlies against Japan and South Korea after the Gold Cup. Former U.S. star Tim Howard looked ahead to the matches and said that every international fixture in the pre-World Cup window needs to be treated "as life-or-death."

“Yeah, these are big man,” Howard said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast with Landon Donovan. “I think we’ve talked all along about like how these friendlies for the U.S. team are no longer friendlies. So, post Gold Cup and pre-World Cup, every game has to be viewed as life or death, I know people don’t like to say that. It has to be viewed as the last chance, every single game...

“I don’t think you should risk injury, but this isn’t a situation where you’re like 'Icome out of my weekend game, I’m kinda feeling a niggle, maybe I stay back in England or Italy to get treatment.' I don’t think that’s the case, I think you make sure you can be on the pitch with as many of your big-time senior starting players as humanly possible. And this is a great opportunity as these are going to be really good games."

A former LA Galaxy and USMNT star, Donovan said that the strategic value of the two opponents will be invaluable for the USMNT before the 2026 World Cup.

“I love this,” Donovan said. "These are two teams that are definitely going to be in the World Cup. South Korea is one win away, and I think they play Kuwait at home in their last qualifier, so they are both going to be in the World Cup. And they are good opponents that will bring a good level for the USMNT. And I’m really excited about this, and I think it’s a really good opportunity for the team.”

The USMNT face increasing pressure to demonstrate they can compete at the highest level after disappointing performances in recent competitions, particularly their fourth-place finish in the 2024 CONCACAF Nations League.

The USMNT will first focus on the Gold Cup this summer, running from June 14 to July 7. Following that, attention will shift to the friendlies against South Korea and Japan, scheduled for the September international window.