USA goalkeeper discussion thread - Episode IV: A New Hope

I don't know a lot about Kochen. But I have always found Gaga a bit overrated. In fact, I like what I have seen out of Beavers in this first year of real minutes more than what I saw out of Gaga in his season as starter. Beavers just looks better to me. But maybe my eyes deceive me.

 

I've seen some clips of Kochen, and talked to people who had seen him playing. He is a talented kid. He isn't as good as Gaga was two years ago. And two years ago I was one of a few who were absolutely against bringing Gaga to the MNT. Probably Kochen ends up ahead of Slonina, but Slonina might be realistically a year and a half from starting for us, and Kochen won't be there by 2026. Beavers won't be ready by the WC either.

 

The backup keeper is 17.

 

That's contrary to what I heard in the broadcast and stated in my post. They said if 3 total (2 from each team were called up) from 1 team are called up League 1 rules say the match HAS to be RESCHEDULED. I don't have any source other then the announcers said that. So maybe that's why Sloninia was unhappy with not getting called up IF that rule is accurate.

It was stated within the first 10 mins of the game.

 

Just did a little digging and it's up to a club whether they want to go forward with a match if they have 3 players called up. Charlton had 3 players on int'l duty this week but chose to go forward with their match today.

 

Call ups cannot be turned down even if the team has games during the window.

League One tends to have less of this being an issue though since just less international players at that level.

 

He has some decent qualities and will hopefully get better. Though, I wouldn't call him terrific in this game.

 

I didn’t have a problem with Schulte starting, but I feel like Turner probably would have given up the same amount of goals. It’s not like Turner has just been giving up soft goals left and right with the national team.

Matt Turner gave up a bad goal on Trinidad but that’s mostly it in terms of the national team. His errors have come in the EPL.

 

I know that and that's what I said to the poster saying Barnsley can block the call up. I responding to you saying the game would be played no matter what. That's not true, on the broadcast they said the game would be rescheduled if 3 players were called up from either team. Someone else said the rule is the team can choose to reschedule. I'd imagine Barnsley would have probably rescheduled if their starting keeper was called up. But, who knows maybe Barnsley asked for Sloninia not to be called up or USS choose not to call him up.

 

Aside from the 2 Canadian goals and US goal, I would say the four best chances were all for the Canadians and one was just off target but Schulte saved the other three... could've been 5-1

As if "first home loss to Canada since 1957" wasn't bad enough...

 

Always fun when you lose despite your keeper being team MOM.

 

You dogged him for not saving a sharp far post shot from the middle of the box. Literally nobody in the world saves that. So that's how reasonable of a perspective you have on this matter.

Incidentally, on the other goal, if he made a world class pursuit, he could have smothered the shot I suppose.

He did make a couple world class saves though. And he's more comfortable out of the back than any other viable alternative.

You're entitled to believe he'll be a bust in the future, or that he's not good enough now, but if you have a negative or even neutral view of that match, you're confirming a bias.

Schulte was #1 on the US in the metrics. W/ our typical keeper we allow 4 goals between their current shot-stopping & ball-playing abilities v. Canada's press.

 

I said that he's slow to get down for low shots which is the same thing that was seen during the Olympics. I didn't say he had an awful game. I just didn't see him as having a terrific game. I also didn't see any world class saves. Which ones are you seeing as world class?

 

From what I can tell Canada had an xG of 1.95 so I don’t know if it’s likely that Canada scores 5 goals. I didn’t think Schulte played badly but 2 goals was about right for the chances Canada had.

 

Promising from Schulte,

 

Honestly the downside to schulte is our team maybe tries to play out of the back more lol.

I thought he was good. We at least will have solid goalkeeping though unclear if we have any that will end up top level starter just yet. Time will tell.

 

Disagreed.

Turner would have gotten in on the "let's pass the ball to the other team" act, and given up MORE goals.

Then posters over here would hurt their backs falling all over themselves and carrying the water for MLS Matt.

 

Some good points here, it’s easy to gloss over just how cool Schulte is on the ball and just how much higher my heart rate would’ve been with Turner under that pressure.
I still see the same hole in his game, it basically comes down to slow feet. He can’t make that Andre Blake play where he can dive and still make a play on a ball moving past him low.

Where I’m changing my tune is it’s not a deal breaker for me at this time. The parts of the game he’s good at are more important than a fairly specific shot stopping deficiency. He’s calming to me as a fan I don’t know if it translates on the field but he just carries himself well.

 

I saw 2.06, & that's not post shot xg. Both their goals were taken well. The first shot on the volley was low xg but high post shot and wouldn't have been saved by the average keeper. It was hard & off to the side. He had 2-3 other notably good saves that if a keeper wasn't sharp beats them.

Then you have to factor in that we're playing out of the back. If Turner plays that style he'd be prone to a couple TO's that put us out of position and both goals came off other players in defense besides the keeper. I'd say Turner gives up 3-4 in that game.

Against Colombia when we were playing out the back he gave up 5, and the first 2 were soft. He got beat near post at a tight angle & then didn't come to a cross before being beaten by a bike that bounced right across his path.

Schulte was an upgrade yesterday.. Give it up.

 

Like I said I wasn’t against playing Schulte. But I don’t think he did anything particularly ground breaking either compared to how Turner would have done. And Schulte is an MLS player himself.

 

Schulte is one of the younger guys getting ready. It's him, Gaga, Brady, Kochen and Beavers (I don't know if I'm overhyping Beavers? but the #'s are the #'s for now anyway in a small sample size). Good on him, he's been great in MLS, up and down with the national team, bad against France, meh against Morocco (I don't think the goals were his fault exactly but there were A LOT OF GOALS-a bit like Turner against Colombia. You need to pull some saves out of your --- and when you pull zero, it just is reminiscent of Gaga and Brady being shelled constantly at Chicago and Eupen-Schulte, and Celentano, and Callendar and Beavers play for good MLS teams that don't let them get shelled, Brady and Gaga play for dumpster fires that do, so...the fact that Schulte saves nothing when he's getting shelled against France and Morocco underlines for me, that his PSxG+- #'s and the other guys might look quite a bit worse if they played for total --- relegation fodder garbage like Chicago and Eupen, week in and week out).

Anyway, I was happy for Schulte. He got shelled today, and came up with some big saves he didn't back in July, good for him. Something to build on. Turner's not been any good either, making zero "save our bacon" saves for quite a while, so giving guys like Schulte, Kochen and other young keepers including Gaga a chance is a priority in my view. Glad he had this performance to show Poch.

 

Disagree, he gave up bad goals against Panama, a meh goal against Uruguay that he shouldn't have (and that was offsides), you go back and look over his performances and there's a reason he's getting 5's and 6's in post game ratings: he's adding nothing and he's periodically giving up howlers, and savable shots. He's ranged from very average to below average in the shirt for years. He hasn't really had standout performances since the WC and earlier in '22, and even in WCQ he graded out as average amongst concacrap goalies which SUCKS (he finished 7th amongst them in the advanced metrics ratings after WCQ wrapped. NOT GOOD for such a crap region).

I don't think he makes those saves, I think we lose 3-1 or 4-1.

 

Gotta say, this is something that definitely bothers me. I am biased towards Gaga, and Brady and Kochen, I've been wishy washy on Schulte:

Plus:
He's got the MLS numbers which excite me.

Negative:
Otoh the games he played against elite teams the past 3 years: France put 5 past him in 2 matches, and Morocco put 4 past him, for 9 goals given up in 3 tough U23 matches. Not great. So it made me a skeptic to a degree. Small sample size bias though and that was basically 2 of the best 3 U23 teams in the world this cycle apparently.

But even I, despite crapping a bit on Schulte in July and August can look at that game, small sample size though it be, and say: Nope, Schulte showed me something here, and I'm gonna put this performance in the plus pile. He's one of the few things that didn't suck yesterday.

He's now back in my group of guys I want to fight for that #1, #2 or #3 job over the next 22 months. For me, it's him, Kochen, Gaga, Brady, and Beaves, against Turner, with Celentano, and Callendar potentially earning call ups in the next couple of windows to lay down their marker. Schulte just earned the right to have another start, for me, in one of our next 2 or 3 matches, and probably peaked ahead, temporarily, of everyone for now. I think Kochen might nail this down by spring '26 though.

 

I think other than the Trinidad game he has not given up a howler. One of the goals given up against Panama also wasn’t given up by him (it was given up by Horvath). And if you look at the shot stopping numbers from the Copa Turner didn’t have a terrible tournament or anything like that.

Turner certainly wasn’t the reason we didn’t advance from the Copa and it’s not as if Schulte doesn’t ever give up soft goals himself.

 

I think Schulte is a young guy compared to someone like Turner but he is 3 years or more older than the other prospects, an age gap that makes a huge difference as far as goalies are concerned. And a Kochen or Slonina will probably be better long term, but both are playing at a lower level currently and aren’t quite there yet. Beavers also a good prospect and hopefully he takes over the starting job permanently soon.