Freese ou Turner como goleiro da Copa do Mundo dos EUA? ‘Qualquer que seja minha função, estarei pronto’

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 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.”

Matt Turner, the 2022 starter, is likely the backup in 2026. (Photo by Cory Knowlton/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)

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.

Matt Freese seems to have the inside track to start. (Photo by Daniel Bartel/USSF/Getty Images)

“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] mas ele tem apoiado incrivelmente Matt Freese e a equipe e nos colocado em primeiro lugar, e isso dá crédito a ambos. Eles estão competindo no final das contas, mas querem o que é melhor para o time”.

A competição se estendeu além da seleção nacional. Turner deixou a Europa no verão passado para se juntar novamente ao New England Revolution – uma mudança destinada a garantir que ele jogasse regularmente e se mantivesse afiado na preparação para esta Copa do Mundo em casa. Freese também compete na Conferência Leste da MLS, pelo New York City FC.

“Jogando minutos consistentes [with the Revs] este ano me ajudou tremendamente a permanecer pronto, ao contrário do passado, onde eu estava perdendo minutos no clube”, disse Turner.

Mesmo que Freese marque o gol na sexta-feira, Turner sabe que as coisas podem mudar a qualquer momento. Afinal, lesões, cartões vermelhos e erros que mudam o jogo acontecem.

“Só porque um [set of 11 players] começar um jogo não significa que os próximos 11 serão iguais”, disse Turner.

Antevisão do Grupo D: EUA, Paraguai, Austrália, Turquia

A posição não é tão forte como antes para a seleção nacional, quando pilares da Premier League como Tim Howard e Brad Guzan disputavam as luvas, ou Brad Friedel e Kasey Keller antes deles. A certa altura, em meados da década de 2000, quatro goleiros titulares da Premier League eram americanos – Howard, Friedel, Keller e Marcus Hahnemann.

Antes desta Copa do Mundo, a posição de goleiro tem sido apontada como um dos potenciais pontos fracos da equipe. Chris Brady, que estreou na seleção principal na segunda metade do jogo do mês passado contra o Senegal, é o terceiro goleiro óbvio.

Na segunda-feira, Freese disse que não se incomoda com quaisquer questões que existam.

“Eu realmente não estou ouvindo ninguém além dos dois caras [Turner and Brady] comigo e com a comissão técnica”, disse ele. “É justo dizer que os EUA têm um grande corpo de goleiros historicamente. Fui fã daquele corpo de goleiros durante grande parte da minha vida, e ainda sou. É uma honra estar nesta equipe e fazer parte desse grupo para continuar esse grande legado”.

“Acho que seja qual for a decisão do técnico, devemos respeitar essa decisão”, disse Turner, “e apoiar uns aos outros durante toda a Copa do Mundo”.