Mauricio Pochettino confirms Matt Turner's USMNT future

Matt Freese faced heavy criticism after his mistake in the final group stage match against Haiti in the Gold Cup. Many suggested Mauricio Pochettino should replace him with veteran Matt Turner — but that didn’t happen in the quarter-final clash against Costa Rica.

Freese responded in the best way possible, saving three penalties in the shootout to give the USMNT a shot at advancing. Even with the odds in their favor, going up against Keylor Navas in a penalty shootout is no easy task.

One reason Pochettino stuck with Freese is Turner’s lack of playing time. Despite being a veteran and the starting goalkeeper at the 2022 World Cup, Turner spent the season on the bench at Crystal Palace, with Dean Henderson ahead of him.

Pochettino was asked about Turner’s role in the post-match press conference, and he expressed confidence in Turner's long-term future with the team.

“I think we have plenty of good players and good keepers. As you might have experienced — because he played in the World Cup in 2022 — he’s a great keeper. But the only problem in this tournament is that Matt didn’t play the whole season, and for different reasons, we wanted to see another keeper. But that was a good conversation, and I think it’s important for all coaching staff to have the possibility, for the future, to have different options — because you never know.”