Jozy Altidore, now a broadcaster, is bullish on the U.S. making a deep World Cup run

World CupJozy Altidore, now a broadcaster, is bullish on the U.S. making a deep World Cup runThe former striker will serve as a World Cup commentator for Telemundo, the tournament’s official Spanish-language network. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Jozy Altidore, a former Toronto FC player, delivers the match ball before a match between Toronto FC and Inter Miami CF in Toronto on May 9.Vaughn Ridley / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 4, 2026, 5:39 AM EDTBy Tim RohanGrowing up in South Florida, Jozy Altidore heard a lot of Spanish playing soccer with local kids and at home from his Dominican grandmother. As a teenager, he went to play for Villarreal, in the Castellón part of Spain, an area that isn’t that touristy. His coach and teammates mostly spoke Spanish. Along the way, Altidore picked up the language.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“A lot of people look at me like, ‘What? You speak Spanish?’” Altidore told NBC News.It will come in handy this summer, when Altidore serves as a World Cup commentator for Telemundo, the games’ official Spanish-language network. Altidore has no experience in broadcasting, and he admits that his Spanish is just OK. But he saw the World Cup was coming to North America, and he didn’t want to be left on the sidelines.“It’s the biggest, most historical World Cup we’ve had,” Altidore said. “For me, it was a good opportunity to stay involved, be a part of the World Cup.”But what about his Spanish? “I can get by,” he said. “I thought, ‘What a cool challenge.’ I think you want to challenge yourself, in the things that you’re doing, always.”Plus, he’ll get to see the Telemundo broadcast up close, the excitement of it, which is a stark contrast to the English-language telecasts, particularly the “goal” calls from the announcer Andrés Cantor. “I always wondered, how does he do that in one breath?” Altidore said. “This guy goes just the whole t...