Long before the U.S. men’s national team could boast of having top talent in its defense, midfield, or attack, it was goalkeeping that periodically allowed it to compete with the best in the world.
In 1994, when the US upset expectations by making it out of the group stage, it was partly thanks to a number of clutch saves from Tony Meola.
When there was a flurry of American upsets in the 1990s — defeats of Argentina and Brazil in the Copa America and Gold Cup — it was achieved mostly through superhuman goalkeeping performances from Kasey Keller.
And when the U.S. men made their best modern run at a World Cup in 2002, reaching the quarterfinals, it happened courtesy of a record-setting performance from Brad Friedel.
The lineage continued, with Tim Howard’s heroics in 2010 and 2014. US goalkeepers found successful careers in England at a time when the number of American outfield players in Europe could seemingly be counted on one hand.
In 2026, the circumstances are slightly different. Both of the expected US starters in net, Matt Turner or Matt Freese are projected to be “solid,” as ex-Revolution head coach Bruce Arena noted in a recent roundtable discussion of former US national team coaches, but neither are seen as world class.
Disappointingly for Turner — a player Arena coached in New England as he won MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 — the media faces who could theoretically be his champions have provided underwhelming advocacy. This included an admission in late May from Revolution radio announcer (and former New England forward) Charlie Davies that Freese would probably be the starter, though he did shine a small amount of light on Turner’s quality play in 2026 at the club level.
“I know Matt Turner very well. He’s a solid goalkeeper. I think the way they want to play and build a little bit more [out of the back] that Freese is a better option in that regard,” Arena admitted in the discussion.
It was actually former US manager Bob Bradley and not Arena who spoke about how Turner’s superior shot-stopping should be a more considered quality when picking a starter.
Turner has proven more effective than Freese in several advanced stats, including goals prevented.
Still, Freese — a former Harvard standout — has enjoyed the confidence of current US coach Mauricio Pochettino for the last year, and is seen as both technically sound and a capable keeper should the game be decided on penalty kicks.
The most interesting, if unlikely, scenario that Arena projected was an almost unheard of concept at a World Cup: a goalkeeper rotation.
“I would not be surprised if there’s an opportunity where they rotate goalkeepers in this World Cup as well even though that would be highly unusual,” Arena explained.
However it plays out, a goalkeeper with local ties will be starting for the US in its second home World Cup.
Hayden Bird can be reached at hayden.bird@globe.com.