Matt Freese vs. Matt Turner: The USMNT starting goalkeeper duel could go down to the wire

IRVINE, Calif. — Most of the time in soccer, one of the first things a team does is set its starting goalkeeper. But for the U.S. men, it appears that will be one of the last things that happens.

Leading candidates Matt Freese and Matt Turner have said in recent days that they don’t know who will get the nod for Friday’s group stage opener vs. Paraguay (9 p.m., Fox29, Telemundo 62).

“Not a ton of clarity,” Turner said Tuesday as he met with the media before the day’s practice. “It’s about training really well, keep fighting, and then the decision will be made on Friday.”

A day earlier, when Freese asked if he’d been told who the starter will be, he said, “No, just focused on training today.”

This is despite the fact that Freese has started 15 of the Americans’ 18 games since his debut last June, including a Gold Cup tournament that cemented his rise and Mauricio Pochettino’s demotion of Turner.

That demotion, in turn, came despite Turner having been the starter at the 2022 World Cup and for a long time afterward. Now, he’s the only goalkeeper on this World Cup squad with experience in the tournament.

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With the clock ticking toward Friday night, what happens now — or at least until U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is asked about it at his news conference on Thursday?

Even then, he might choose not to name a starter publicly.

From most of the indications we have so far, Freese is ahead. The fact that he started the final tuneup game vs. Germany signaled that after Turner played the first half of the first tuneup vs. Senegal.

What is certain is that each is laser-focused on trying to win the race and on his individual tasks to get there.

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Let’s start with Freese, the 27-year-old Wayne native who grew up at Episcopal Academy and Union youth teams, turned down trials at English powers Manchester United and Liverpool, then went to Harvard to follow in his family’s footsteps.

After two years on campus, he left to turn pro with the Union, and served as Andre Blake’s backup for four seasons before getting a trade to New York City FC so he could become a starter. He has kept improving since then, combining his saves, passing, and a work ethic that Pochettino appreciates.

“I think the mentality that I always have, and I always will have for the next 15 years of playing, is to never expect to be in a roster,” Freese said in a recent news conference. “You always want to chase it, no matter what. And even if you’re a guy who’s played 100 games in a row for the national team, I’m going to be someone that is chasing that next one.”

At every step along the way, Freese has spoken about taking things one day at a time: in September, October, November, and again in March. The latter two months brought extra opportunities, as Freese beat his old club twice: knocking them out of the playoffs and thwarting them in the league home opener.

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As cliche as it is to say, consistency is key, and Freese lives it intentionally.

“I think every player has his own routines and strategies, but what works for me is taking every game the same and doing the same routine,” he said, “and doing the same preparation, same mind work, same physical work. Because then you arrive into the game in your standard situation.”

He acknowledged that “it’s obviously a World Cup, and it’s obviously different, and it’s obviously special: a once, twice hopefully, in a lifetime experience. And so that excitement will be there, naturally.”

But he persists, all the way down to what he packed for the trip.

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“I bring my tea kettle, so I make the same tea. I’ve brought my own alarm clock from home,” he said. “The exact same stuff. I love keeping things consistent because if it works for you in small moments, then the game itself doesn’t change. So it helps me, at least, deal with those big moments and that pressure.”

And there undoubtedly is pressure: to make a historic impact at this World Cup, and on him personally to continue the legacy built by Tony Meola, Kasey Keller, Brad Friedel, and Tim Howard. Howard often wore No. 24, the same one that’s on Freese’s back this summer.

“I was a fan of that goalkeeping corps for much of my life — still am,“ Freese said. “And so it’s an honor to be on this team and be part of that group, to hopefully continue that great legacy.”

He summed it up this way: “The ones that work hard without the promise of reward are the ones that usually succeed.”

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Now to Turner, who has his own remarkable story. The 31-year-old north Jersey native wasn’t well-known when the New England Revolution signed him undrafted out of Fairfield in 2016, but he quickly became a stalwart. That led not just to being the 2022 World Cup starter, but to a $6 million move to England’s Arsenal earlier that year.

But he failed to establish himself there, so he moved across England to Nottingham Forest, then Crystal Palace on loan, then France’s Lyon. None of those moves brought stability, and his U.S. stock started falling as a result.

So he returned to New England on loan last summer, and this year has finally regained his form. By some statistical measures, he has done better than Freese in MLS this year.

With the U.S., Freese looked better in the March games vs. Belgium in Portugal. If Turner looked slightly better against Senegal than Freese did in conceding an early free kick goal to Germany, the fact that Turner only played half of his game means a full comparison isn’t possible.

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“I think playing consistent minutes at the level that I’ve been playing at this year has helped me tremendously with staying ready,” Turner said, “unlike in the past, where I was kind of scrapping for minutes at the club level, and then when you show up to the national team, you’re not as sharp when your number is called. So it’s obviously been really great to to be playing consistently, be an important player for my team as well, and, of course, that just helps with my preparation on a weekly basis, daily basis.”

One of Pochettino’s goals in his tenure has been to foster competition across the roster, so no player feels assured of a place — which can breed the complacency that sank the team at the 2024 Copa América. In that context, Turner was asked to expand on his “lack of clarity” remark: is it a good dynamic or too unsettling?

“I think it’s a great thing, and I think he’s constructed a roster of guys that buy into that,” he said. “And it creates competition in training for spots on a weekly basis. Just because [a group of] 11 starts one game doesn’t mean the next 11 is going to be the same. Everybody knows that they’re looked at in the same light in the coach’s eyes, and if they merit and deserve an opportunity with this coach, they’re going to get one.”

And asked if he prefers to not have the starter at his position set yet, he was just as direct.

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“Well, given the fact that I haven’t played a ton in the last year for the national team, of course, for me, that makes me feel like the door is always cracked [open] — everyone has a chance” he said. “But I think the coach will always pick the guy that’s playing the best, and he’s going to make the right decision for the team. And whatever my role is going to be, I’m going to be ready to do it to the best of my ability.”

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