USMNT eyes swagger coming from Europe

No goalkeeper in U.S. soccer history played more games, won as often or started as many World Cup matches as Tim Howard, but he never played on a national team as good as the current one.

“This generation of players,” he said “is clearly the most talented group that this country has ever seen.”

Now all they have to do is prove it. This year, one of the busiest ever for a U.S. national team, will go a long way toward determining whether this golden generation is truly 24 carat or mostly fool’s gold.

There are eight World Cup qualifiers, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, two Nations League matches and the Tokyo Olympics on a 2021 schedule that opens Sunday with a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago in Orlando, Florida.

That exhibition figures to have little impact on what is otherwise shaping up as a decisive year for the national team. Trinidad, which eliminated the Americans from the last World Cup, hasn’t played in more than 14 months and the roster

U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter will use for the game is a young, domestic one made up mostly of age-eligible candidates for this spring’s Olympic qualifiers, which is an under-23 tournament.

Just six players, among them Toronto’s Jozy Altidore and the Galaxy’s Sebastian Lletget, have made more than 13 senior international appearances.

The bulk of the first-choice U.S. roster, the one Berhalter will take into the World Cup qualifiers this fall, remains in Europe. The fact so many young Americans are playing regularly there is fueling optimism about the national team’s chances this year and beyond.

Even the obstinate Jose Mourinho likes what he sees.

“Lots of good players,” the Tottenham manager said in a talk before the United Soccer Coaches Convention earlier this month. “The players are coming and the players have quality. It’s not like everyone is a technical, creative player. It’s not like everyone is physical.

“There are quite a mixture of qualities. … You have the players to have a very interesting national team.”