In a January 17 interview with news outlet USA Today, United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) goalkeeper Tim Howard made some comments that have landed him in hot water with some of his compatriots.

When asked about his thoughts on departing manager Jurgen Klinsmann, Howard made a comment about dual-nationals that ruffled some feathers in US Soccer circles.

“Jurgen Klinsmann had a project to unearth talent around the world that had American roots,” said the 37-year-old goalkeeper. “But having American roots doesn’t mean you are passionate about playing for that country.”

The sentiment expressed by Howard above is a new phenomenon in US Soccer culture,this idea that foreign-born USMNT players do not share the same “national pride” or “respect for the crest” as their American-born teammates. A plethora of tweets following a Jermaine Jones, a USMNT midfielder who was born in Frankfurt, Germany, expressed anger over Jones’ thick German accent and lose control of the English language.

While this stigma towards foreign-born players is a new development, foreign-born players are not.

Arguably the most famous United States soccer match ever was their 1-0 defeat of soccer giants England in the 1950 World Cup. The lone goal scorer of the match was Joe Gaetjens, a Haitian immigrant who became an American citizen in 1948. Two dual-nationals, Jeff Agoos and Earnie Stewart, are members of the prestigious 100 Cap (appearances) club. Dual-national players have been an integral part of the USMNT since its inception, a truth understood by many supporters of the team.

“Up until today, the US had been unable to consistently produce quality homegrown players, so dual nationals helped to fill the talent gap” said Blanchet senior and USMNT super fan Micah Perry. “Even though we now have talented homegrown players, every citizen of the United States should be allowed to play for the national team.”

Current USMNT manager Bruce Arena seems to agree with this, as he called in 5 dual-nationals into his January camp, including the aforementioned Jones, as well as Seattle Sounders hero Stefan Frei, Liberian refugee Darlington Nagbe, Gambia-born Kekuta Manneh, and Brazilian immigrant Benny Feilhaber.
Arena and USMNT fans both hope whoever is on the pitch, they are ready to play. The United States has a must win game in World Cup Qualifying on March 24 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose, California against Honduras.