It’s widely accepted that Europe’s top leagues and competitions, led by the Champions League, the Premier League and LaLiga, are the pinnacle of professional soccer. However, they shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all when it comes to selecting players for international duty. At least that’s the view of former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard.

Howard explained that he and fellow co-host Landon Donovan had received some flak from listeners to their “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast after revealing they had serious doubts over whether Atlético Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso should make the United States’ 2026 World Cup roster.

Ultimately, it matters little now, as Cardoso later suffered a serious ankle injury that will keep him out of the tournament. However, Howard was keen to revisit the wider point and hit back at what he calls “Eurosnobs.”

Howard hits back at “Eurosnobs”

“A Eurosnob is anything that happens in Europe, and if a player’s playing for a big club, then they must play for your national team,” the former Manchester United goalkeeper explained.

Premier League stars Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson are all expected to feature at the World Cup, alongside Serie A duo Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie and Ligue 1 pair Tim Weah and Folarin Balogun.

However, Howard and Donovan believe the club you play for and the league you compete in are only part of the story, and they used Cardoso to illustrate that point.

Since moving to Atlético, the midfielder has been in and out of the team due to injuries. His recent USMNT career has been even more stop-start, with Cardoso playing only 45 minutes across the team’s last eight games under Mauricio Pochettino.

“He’s out with injury. He’s not in the squad,” said Howard, reading down a list of the Stars and Stripes’ recent games and Cardoso’s participation, or lack of it.

Cardoso’s USMNT form under scrutiny

Stretching back to the summer of 2024, the 24-year-old played only four times in 16 matches for his country. He made three starts, all of which ended in defeats, including a 4-0 thrashing by Switzerland.

“When he does play again, we‘ve all had bad games, but against Türkiye, a poor, poor performance in 45 minutes,” Howard said. “And the next game, we got pumped 4-0 by Switzerland and he played the full 90.

“And then from then on, you know, there’s 21 minutes in this game, nine minutes in that game, two minutes, 45 minutes. Like, I would love to see on here 90 minutes, 90 minutes, 80 minutes. Like, there’s just no consistency.”

While Donovan said he still would have taken Cardoso had he been fit, Howard wasn’t so convinced, despite the level the midfielder has reached with Atleti this season, which he insists isn’t the most important factor.

“So the people who are giving us stick going, ‘You’re out of your mind,’ maybe. But that’s not what his history is and what Pochettino is looking at when he looks at Cardoso.

“Like Poch also watches Atlético Madrid on TV. He sees these games, but he also calls him in and sees him in person, which is more important, and that’s what we’re judging this on.”

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