USA goalkeeper discussion thread - Episode IV: A New Hope

a. turner already has a wc under his belt where he played decently
b. things can change dramatically in terms of club situation the next 1.5 yrs
c. we are extremely desperate

 

Its really hard to predict.

I don't know how anybody can say anything regarding our goalkeeper position with any certainty.

Yes, it's up to Pochettino to bring in guys playing in MLS and guys not-playing in Europe like Turner/Horvath to decide who can help us with the most.

Turner could be #1 at the 2026 WC or he might not be the roster. Hell if I know.........................

 

I think I would bet more likely than not Turner is on the World Cup roster. But if he doesn’t find a spot where he can play regularly it won’t be a surprise if people pass him. Goalkeeper is the most up for grabs position right now in terms of the 2026 roster.

 

When it comes to Turner, (although this was a controversial Berhalter decision), remember that a healthy Zack Steffen was left off a World Cup roster when that had previously been unthinkable.

Turner needs to remember this lesson as he’s currently on shaky ground, especially if we have three goalkeepers begin to show some life.

 

Right, but the rumor (which to be fair may not have been accurate) was that he was told he was going to be the backup and didn't handle it well.

 

Zack Steffen WANTS to be Mauricio Pochettino’s No. 1

Zack Steffen always hoped to return to the #USMNT after being left off the 2022 World Cup roster. Now that the veteran goalkeeper is back, his sights are set on starting for the Americans in 2026. ⁦@FOXSoccer⁩:https://t.co/NPc6KXGCpH

— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) October 10, 2024

48th in MLS, 1st in Poch's heart

 

I feel like this exchange belongs here lol

 

Well, one of those posters understands numbers but doesn't understand context.

 

I’m definitely rooting for Steffen but at the same time I have this nagging feeling he would cost us dearly in a big match. But too bad! I’ll get over it, I only want the best we can do, and if the staff thinks that’s Steffen, so be it.

 

US Soccer has a world class analytics group. I suspect they are not just looking at 1 metric.

“That is our first roster; I explained a little bit that we were working from the distance, with all the [U.S. Soccer] analysis guys there, just trying to find and to see who is the best squad or the best balance. And I think it's a good opportunity to see him and analyze, but not only with him, if not with all the players that are involved in the roster."

https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/zack...-under-pochettino-he-deserved-the-opportunity

 

I’m rooting for whoever they put out there. But based on what I’ve seen I hope they continue to explore their options at the position.

 

38 year old Evan Bush has done more than Steffen to earn a call up just based on this clip

“I smell a competition brewing!” ☕️

Welcome back to Crew Feud pres. by @TimHortonsUS pic.twitter.com/vgiwGYowQc

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) October 9, 2024

 

The problem with Steffen has been injuries, and unfortunately similar to Turner, mental errors. He’s got talent. But if he could stay healthy, and not try to be Ederson, keep his game simple, he could be serviceable.

 

Turner, Steffen and Horvath worry me any time the ball is played back to them. Given that is a common aspect of modern soccer, we need to move on from these guys, in my opinion. While Shulte has his own issues he needs to work on, he's far more comfortable with the ball at his feet.

It's just sad that a historical strength of the USMNT now seems to be a weakness. We haven't had a great keeper since Howard.

 

It is difficult to watch a ton of MLS games during the Euro season so I tend to pick a game or three and watch the recap on the rest. As such, I haven't watched Steffen more than a handful of times this season. But I did watch every minute he played in Leagues Cup and he was remarkably good in that competition. Hard to wrap my head around the fact that the GK I saw in Leagues Cup is ranked so low in the MLS.?.?

 

Steffen has always been a bit erratic at shot stopping. His rep early on in MLS was actually built quite a bit on a rather fantastic penalty record, IIRC -- he was stopping a ton of pens. I know why he has those great stretches -- he's athletic and seems to have pretty good instincts. But I don't know enough about keeping technique to understand why he could never translate that ability into something more consistent.

That said, also, keepers also go on streaks. No different than a scoring streak.

 

There's also the question of sample size... Leagues Cup was how many games?

 

Steffan comes across to me like a guy who when he's good can be very good. But, he is prone to having poor games far too often or making boneheaded plays within an otherwise solid game. For me, that's disqualifying because I really value consistency in a goalkeeper especially. But, I could see a coach thinking he can get the good Zach more often wanting to take a chance on him. I'm hoping Schulte gets the games this window.

 

I'm thinking there's three ways a keeper helps with goals against - stopping shots, making good passes so the ball doesn't come right back and doing some sweeper keeper to get to the ball before it can become a shot. It would be interesting to see ratings on all four of these keepers in those three categories. I'm sort of guessing that Steffen might be good at the sweeping and passing and not so much the shots. I'm guessing because his numbers are poor but his team is good and some have watched and said he looked good. I could be way off here but maybe keeping stats don't consider the last two very much while some coaches do?

 

You'd probably want to add dealing with crosses to that list. Maybe even organizing defenses, though that's generally going to be very hard to gauge from the outside, and probably impossible using stats.

 

I see it totally differently. Steffen can't be very good ever. He isn't athletic enough, he can be lucky and have good games, but out of 10 games 7-8 will be mediocre even without blunders.

 

Shot-stopping (psxg+/-): 1. Turner (MLS), 2. Freese, 3. Callender, 4. Schulte, 5. Celentano, 6. Steffen

Ball-playing (subjective): 1. Schulte, 2. Steffen, 3. Celentano, 4. Callender, 5. Freese, 6. Turner

Crosses (stop %): 1. Callender, 2. Turner (MLS last yr), 3. Celentano, 4. Freese, 5. Schulte, 6. Steffen

Sweeping (d-actions outside PA/90): 1. Steffen, 2. Freese, 3. Schulte, 4. Turner, 5. Callender, 6. Celentano

(excludes bench player in Championship & League 1 starter so below our standards)

They total:

Turner, 13
Freese, 13
Schulte, 13
Callender, 13
Steffen, 15
Celentano, 16

Reinforces this is a really close race between 3-4 options. Callender being the sleeper.

If you favor shot-stopping, you can go Turner. Ball-playing, it's Schulte. Form, it's Freese.

 

Supports my Turner - Schulte - Freese - Beavers picks.... Beavers as the young kid because we're desperate for fresh blood but Callendar works too.

 

Agree, but CB isn't too far behind. No one has done a great job of claiming it for themselves.

 

Steffen is a quicksand player. When things go wrong it's never just one thing. Honestly Steffen mirrors Horvath's issues quite a bit, but Steffen's good tends to be really good.