Who will play in goal for USMNT?

USMNT boss Greg Berhalter may decide to give opportunities to new goalkeepers later this month after regular starter Matt Turner lost his place in the Nottingham Forest team.

Turner’s international performances have been consistent but he has struggled for form in the Premier League since his summer move to Forest. He was at fault for a Mohamed Salah goal in a recent loss to Liverpool, charging out of his area and failing to connect with the ball.

After that error, Turner was dropped for the team’s following fixture against high-flying Aston Villa. Odysseas Vlachodimos took Turner’s place in the starting XI and Forest secured an impressive 2-0 victory.

After the Game Forest coach Steve Cooper said that it “felt like the right time” for a change of personnel.

“I made the call pretty early in the week, I spoke to Matt about it and he understood. There’s also some stuff that we want to work with him.”

USMNT goalkeeper shortage

It had looked like Turner had made the number one jersey his own for USMNT and he has been a regular since his international debut two years ago.

The 29-year-old has played 35 times for the United States’ national team since 2021. He was a key part of the team that won the Concacaf Nations League earlier this year and started both matches in the October international break.

In those recent fixtures the only other goalkeeper included in the squad was Ethan Horvath, who also finds himself on the substitutes’ bench at Nottingham Forest. But as Berhalter looks ahead to the November international break, he may opt to give a chance to a new goalkeeper.

In MLS there is the experienced Sean Johnson of Toronto FC, who was called up earlier this year for the Gold Cup. However at 34 he is hardly a long-term solution and is unlikely to be in contention for the 2026 World Cup.

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Elsewhere in MLS both Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati) and Drake Callender (Inter Miami) have impressed with their performances in 2023, but neither has won an international cap. Further afield Zack Steffen (Manchester City) and Gabriel Slonina (Eupen, on loan from Chelsea) are talented but are unlikely to see much top level action this season.

Turner will almost certainly start the November internationals in goal for USMNT, but Berhalter may choose to test out some other options too.