Freese Or Turner As USA’s World Cup Goalkeeper? ‘Whatever My Role, I’ll Be Ready’

U.S. Men’s National Team Training Base (IRVINE, Calif.) — Under cloudless sky at the beginning of Tuesday’s practice session, Matt Freese and Matt Turner shuffled their feet and drove to their left and right as they took shots under the watchful eyes of the USA goalkeeper coaches, Toni Jimenez and Jack Robinson. Just three days from now, one of “The two Matts” will have the eyes of the planet on them as the World Cup co-hosts begin what they hope will be a long and inspiring run to the business end of the biggest event in global history with the first group stage game, on Friday up the coast in Los Angeles against Paraguay. They still don’t know which one. While the expectation is that World Cup newcomer Freese will be between the posts for the Stars and Stripes to start the competition, Turner said what his teammate-turned-rival did a day earlier: that coach Mauricio Pochettino has not yet told them who’ll be his No. 1 keeper. Turner manned the nets with distinction four years ago in Qatar, keeping a clean sheet against star-studded England, one of the favorites to win it all, to help his country advance to the knockout stage. Despite that experience, the former English Premier League backstop could occupy more of a support role this time around. Not that he’s necessarily looking at it that way. “Being ready for if my number is called and just training every day, preparing for every game like I’m playing, regardless of what the coach ultimately decides here,” Turner said when I asked him how he’ll handle being the understudy if that’s his role this time around. “I think the coach will always pick the guy that’s playing the best, and you know he’s going to make the right decision for the team,” he added. “And whatever my role is going to be, I’m going to be ready to do it to the best of my ability.” It’s not much different for Freese. “You work for the opportunity, but you never know if it’s going to come,” said the Harvard graduate. “As a competitor, you always want to be on the field, always want to help the team in whatever capacity, and this doesn’t change in this moment. Whatever I’m called upon to do, I’m ready to do.” The keeper battle between them has been raging for a year, ever since Pochettino named Freese, who had just one international game under his belt at the time, as his starter for the Concacaf Gold Cup. The 27-year-old led a severely shorthanded U.S. side that was missing lineup mainstays Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Folarin Balogun, Sergiño Dest, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and others all the way to the final against Mexico, winning a shootout over Costa Rica (and legendary former Real Madrid No. 1 Keylor Navas) along the way. Freese has started almost every game since, with Turner mostly rooted to the bench. If being demoted was hard for the veteran, 31, to take, he hasn’t shown it publicly. By all accounts, he and Freese have a healthy professional relationship. “Both those guys have done a tremendous job,” midfielder Cristian Roldan said on Tuesday. “Matt Turner has maybe taken a step back [from the starting job] but he’s been so incredibly supportive of Matt Freese and the team and putting us first, and so credit to both of them. They’re competing at the end of day, but they want what’s best for the team.” The competition has extended beyond the national team. Turner left Europe last summer to re-join the New England Revolution — a move designed to ensure that he was playing regularly and staying sharp in the lead-up to this World Cup on home soil. Freese also competes in MLS’s Eastern Conference, for New York City FC. “Playing consistent minutes [with the Revs] this year has helped me tremendously with staying ready, unlike in the past, where I was kind of scrapping for minutes at the club level,” Turner said. Even if Freese is in goal on Friday, Turner knows things can change at any moment. After all, injuries and red cards and game-changing errors happen. “Just because one [set of 11 players] starts one game doesn’t mean the next 11 is going to be the same,” Turner said. The position isn’t as strong as it once was for the national team, when Premier League mainstays like Tim Howard and Brad Guzan were vying for the gloves, or Brad Friedel and Kasey Keller before them. At one point in the mid-2000s, four starting keepers in the Premier League were American — Howard, Friedel, Keller and Marcus Hahnemann. Ahead of this World Cup, the goalkeeper position has been called one of the team’s potential weaknesses. Chris Brady, who earned his first senior appearance in the second half of last month’s tune-up against Senegal, is the obvious third-choice keeper. On Monday, Freese said he’s unfazed by whatever questions exist. “I’m not really listening to anyone outside of the two guys [Turner and Brady] with me and the coaching staff,” he said. “It’s fair to say the US has a great goalkeeping corps historically. I was a fan of that goalkeeping corps for much of my life, and still am. It’s an honor to be on this team and be part of that group to hopefully continue that great legacy.” “I think whatever the coach ultimately decides, we owe it to each other to respect that decision,” Turner said, “and support each other all the way through the World Cup.”