Jozy Altidore set off quite the firestorm, didn't he? Speaking on CBS' 'Kickin It', Altidore compered the U.S. men's national team of yesteryear to the current golden generation. He said, in his opinion, the USMNT of 2014 could, and would, beat the current team.
“Better is a weird word”, he said. "More complete? I would say our generation in terms of position for position. Better talent-wise, individually, I would say this one now, but not everywhere, in certain spots... If the two sides played each other at full strength, I think ours would win.”
That statement, of course, split social media into two camps. The first, of course, was the one that was totally flabbergasted by the idea that the old team could top the modern group. Part of that, for sure, will stem from frustration in response to the World Cup failiure of 2018, which Altidore is still very much scapegoated for. The rest, though, stems from the fact that the current group is playing at a higher level for their clubs than ever before.
However, there is a section that sees where Altidore is coming from. This USMNT isn't anywhere near its peak, while that 2014 group featured veterans all over the field. There's no telling how good the USMNT could be in 2026 or 2024, but the 2022 World Cup team went just as far as the 2014 group did in Brazil: the Round of 16.
So this all brings up a fun debate and discussion, one which could also be held about the 2002 side and the 2009 group that blasted Spain at the Confederations Cup. But, when comparing 2023 to 2014, who would have the upper hand? GOAL goes position-by-position to try and figure out how Altidore's claim holds up.