The USMNT has a goalkeeping problem for the 2026 World Cup

For decades, the US Men’s National Team When it came to the goalie position, it was completely wasted, as the program produced a veritable conveyor belt of world-class keepers.

There was Tony Meola in the early to mid 1990s. You had Casey Keller and Brad Friedel duking it out in the late ’90s and mid-2000s. This was followed by Tim Howard in the 2010s. The latter three have enjoyed long careers at various clubs in Europe’s top leagues.

But as the USMNT heads into this summer’s World Cup, a position that once inspired utter confidence now raises nagging questions. The current group of goalkeepers — consisting of New York City FC Matte Freezeof the New England Revolution Matt Turnerof the Chicago Fire Chris BradyFC Cincinnati Roman Celentano and of the Columbus crew Patrick Schulte — do not go into this summer’s tournament at the same level as their predecessors

All of them are sporting events MLS Perhaps the most obvious sign is that this group of goalkeepers has taken a step down from previous generations. Either they didn’t catch the eye of the world’s top clubs abroad, or they tried, but couldn’t establish themselves at Europe’s elite level.

Although the USMNT has a longstanding reputation for producing physical athletes, much of what separates the merely good defenders from the elite can be found in the ears. Decision making, positioning and the ability to move past inevitable mistakes are all part of strengthening a goalkeeper’s resilience. Experience is key to improving those aspects of a keeper’s game, and none of the current pool has yet amassed the breadth of experience of previous USMNT keepers.

To be fair, some of that is down to youth: Brady, Celentano and Schultz are all 25 or younger. Their best days are ahead of them — Brady in particular is seen as a high ceiling — but that may not be reached in time for the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Turner started for the United States at the World Cup four years ago, but at 31, has returned to MLS on loan with New England from French side Olympique Lyonnais after failing to secure consistent playing time at multiple European clubs. Presumptive starter Freese, 27, is another with room to grow, and he’s been solid in most of his appearances for the USMNT. But he is yet to give a performance that will impress anyone.

Former US international goalkeeper Casey Keller — who was the starting goalkeeper for Tottenham and Borussia Monchengladbach in his playing days — was less than impressed.

“Honestly, it’s a little bit surprising, because it’s not even the second level (of defenders) where you go, ‘These guys are OK,'” said ESPN analyst Keller.

Tim Hanley is a longtime goalkeeping coach in MLS who has worked with the likes of Joe Cannon, Pat Onstad and Andre Blake and was most recently on the staff of the Houston Dynamo. He is Freese’s coach when they cross paths with him Philadelphia Union. Hanley is just as skeptical.

“I don’t know if (goalkeeping) is a weakness, but it’s definitely not a strength,” Hanley said of the USMNT goaltending situation. “You don’t go into the World Cup in a position where you feel great about it. I think they’re going to start free and play free. I don’t think they have much of a choice.”

Worryingly, there is evidence that the USMNT’s goalkeeping performance in the 2026 World Cup cycle — at least in terms of stopping shots — did not match the 2022 cycle, when the USMNT exited the World Cup in the Round of 16.

In the run-up to the 2022 World Cup, taking into account only competitive fixtures, the USMNT’s goals against — a statistic that basically measures if a defender has saved more goals than expected in terms of shot quality — was 5.42 over a span of 32 games (or 0.17 goals against/game). In the current cycle, the number of goals against over a span of 28 games was 2.25 (good for 0.08 goals against/game). (Target resistance data only goes back to 2018, meaning we can’t study previous cycles.)

How does the USMNT end up with goaltending as a weakness?

The most charitable argument for the USMNT’s plight is that, at the international level at least, the quality of a given position is cyclical. There is an ebb and flow as to why star talent emerges in certain positions and then lies dormant for a while. even with Argentinaup to Lionel Messi Along came, there was an almost endless search for the next Diego Maradona. The U.S. goalie contingent appears to be no different.

“I just think it’s a wave. I just think we got it pretty good, and now we don’t,” Hanley said. “Now those guys are out. All the hopefuls and the new up-and-comers are too young, and guys who are like MLS guys: they’re decent. But I think if someone like Freeze or Celentano plays abroad, (at a club) Club BrugesThey’ll feel better under pressure.”

However, there is also an argument that the way US soccer has lost its advantage in the position of trained defenders. Training emphasized defenders being better on their feet than other important aspects of the position, such as stopping shots.

Former US international goalkeeper Brad Friedel, formerly a starting goalkeeper for Aston Villa and Tottenham, spent part of his post-playing career as an assistant for the US youth national team, and has seen this emphasis up close. Friedel, who gave Turner his first start with New England in 2018 as a manager, thinks that for nearly a decade, from 2007-17, the U.S. “lost something important” about goalies.

“We focused more on playing with the back four and giving positional sense,” he said. “With all due respect, if you’re not an athlete and you’re not brave, you can’t be a top-level goalkeeper. If you’re an athlete and you’re brave, you can teach all the other skills. But you can’t teach someone to throw their body in front of the ball or their feet. It doesn’t happen.

“So I think we lost a lot of time on what was important in goalkeeping and we focused a lot on developing better outfield players.”

While Friedel thinks the pendulum has started to swing back in terms of training intensity, it’s too late to make an impact this World Cup cycle. Still, Keller thinks the tactical shift to involving a goalkeeper in the buildup continues.

“I think our young goalkeepers here are not goalkeepers anymore,” he said. “They’re a field player who spends a little more time using their hands than other field players. … You (your goalkeeper) have to make a save to make a difference. Keeping possession inside your own 18 doesn’t make a difference.”

Hanley does not dispute that in recent years, he has incorporated more passing into his sessions. If he’s fired up to work in a certain area, he said he’ll hide in a distribution drill, or maybe end up with one.

“Every practice is doing (passing) now. I don’t think it should be taken away,” he said. “I think there’s always going to be chatter. It’s always going to be, ‘Can you keep the ball out of the goal?’ I think we’re still at a point where most people who are on target these days are good at the savings part and not so good at kicking. It’s not like everyone out there has turned into Jorge Campos, they can do these incredible things with their feet.”

Lack of club experience for USMNT goalkeepers

What is not in dispute is that the current cohort of US guards does not have the same level of experience as their predecessors.

Prior to the 1998 World Cup, Keller already had 281 first team matches under his belt, 270 of which came in the European League. Going into the 2002 World Cup, Friedel had 201 first-team appearances, 156 of which came in Europe. Howard is above them all. Heading into the 2010 World Cup, his first as a USMNT starter, Howard had already amassed 360 first-team appearances, 261 of which came in Europe. Already Freese has 120 appearances, all in MLS. Turner, arguably the only member of the current pool with World Cup experience, has amassed 142 first-team appearances, but only 31 of those have come in Europe over a three-year spell.

The reality is that over the past decade US defenders have consistently failed to break through and earn starting spots in Europe’s top leagues, where they can gain the experience needed to join the elite. Jack Steffen A Manchester City or at Turner Arsenal, Nottingham Forest And Crystal Palace. Ethan HorvathNow with the New York Red Bulls, perhaps came the closest, though the English Championship proved to be his ceiling.

Granted, injuries blunted Steffen’s career progression, aided by loan spells at Fortuna Dusseldorf and Middlesbrough. He finally returned with MLS Colorado RapidsBut his case illustrates how transfer decisions can haunt a player if they’re not the right fit. If a move doesn’t work, it’s best to cut it short and find a better playing situation. That’s essentially what Turner, Horvath and Steffen have done — even if the return to MLS feels like resignation.

“I’m never going to say to anybody, ‘Don’t gamble on yourself,'” Keller said, but, he added: “Rather than Matt Turner not playing at Arsenal, I’d have liked to have seen him go and play a season in the English Championship — 46 matches plus cup games, super grind, intense, strong, physically trying to go down (instead of) they tried to step up. The club you’re at and you’re going to stay there. Premier LeagueAnd it didn’t work.”

That doesn’t mean there’s no value in playing in MLS. The level may not be as high as Europe’s Big Five top leagues, but it’s still a first-team experience. That matters. As Friedel said: “People ask me all the time: Is it better to go to Europe or to be in MLS? And then my answer is, ‘If you’re going to play, it’s better to go to Europe. If you’re going to go to Europe and sit on the bench, it’s better to be in MLS and play.'”

The hope for the USMNT’s goalies, then, will be the likes of Freeze, Turner, Brady et al. After this summer’s World Cup it will be back to foreign clubs — or in Turner’s case

Where do things stand for the 2026 World Cup?

For now, it’s not like Freeze, Turner or Brady are suddenly going to gain a ton of experience before the World Cup. Nor are they undergoing some radical shift in power. They are who they are.

Frees is the frontrunner to start at the World Cup as he has scored in 14 of the USMNT’s last 15 matches under Mauricio Pochettino. For all the talk about experience, he gained some valuable knowledge in 2025 Gold CupAgainst which includes prevailing in the penalty shootout Costa RicaTicos with legends Keylor Navas Aiming at the opponent.

But Turner is making a late push to free Freeze. Turner is second in MLS in goals prevented with 5.96, while Freeze is at -0.19. Turner’s save percentage of 77.4% is also significantly higher than Freese’s 65.5%.

While it’s true that a goalkeeper’s numbers can be a reflection of how well the defense is playing in front of him, it still indicates that Turner’s current form is good.

“I think they’re all there — I think they’re all at a level where a goaltender won’t be the reason we lose a game,” Friedel said of the current defensemen. “Tournaments like the World Cup make stars, so if Matt Freese started, why couldn’t he be a hero for the United States?”

If he does, he’ll be well on his way to becoming the next great American goalkeeper. The USMNT can only hope.