ATLANTA \u2014<\/strong> Matt Turner envisions the scene on a daily basis.<\/p>\n On June 12, when the U.S. men\u2019s national team steps onto the pitch for its opening World Cup match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium, Turner will take it all in. The roar of 70,000-plus fans. The teams emerging from the tunnel in their new kits. The national anthems reverberating throughout the stadium as supporters belt out every word.\u00a0<\/p>\n “There\u2019s a million different pictures that go on in my head. I think about it a lot,” Turner told me and a group of reporters sitting around a table at the National Training Center in Fayetteville, Georgia, during the squad\u2019s pre-tournament camp. “I\u2019ll probably cry when the national anthem goes. It\u2019s just such a huge honor \u2014 overwhelming honor \u2014 to be granted that responsibility to be on this team to do our best in those roles and ultimately, change soccer here forever.”<\/p>\n What Turner might not be imagining totally accurately, though, is where he\u2019ll physically be standing. He\u2019s hoping to be on the field as a member of Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s starting lineup.\u00a0<\/p>\n More realistically, he could be on the bench.<\/p>\n Matt Turner, the starter at the 2022 World Cup, is likely looking at a backup role in 2026. (Photo by Cory Knowlton\/ISI Photos\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Turner, 31, was one of three goalkeepers announced as part of the USA\u2019s 26-man World Cup roster. He was the Americans\u2019 starter four years ago in Qatar and firmly held onto that role. Then he was unseated by Matt Freese, who made his national team debut last June. Freese gained valuable experience and clout with Pochettino through solid performances at the 2025 Gold Cup, which included saving three penalties in the quarterfinal shootout against Costa Rica.\u00a0<\/p>\n Freese has started 13 of the last 14 matches and established himself as the frontrunner to start for the U.S. at a home World Cup.<\/p>\n While Freese didn\u2019t play in the team’s recent 3-2 tune-up win over Senegal, there\u2019s not much to glean because that lineup was not necessarily indicative of how things will look at the World Cup. Turner started and played 45 minutes, while 22-year-old Chris Brady of the Chicago Fire earned his first U.S. cap in the second half. It was important to Pochettino for Brady to play so that his inaugural appearance with the national team wasn\u2019t potentially at a World Cup.<\/p>\n Turner understands the optics. But as a super competitive incumbent, he\u2019s not going down without a fight.<\/p>\n “I\u2019m just going to train like I have a chance,” said Turner, who joined the New England Revolution on loan from French club Olympique Lyonnais ahead of the 2026 MLS season.<\/p>\n “That\u2019s how I\u2019ve gotten to where I am in this current day and age, so I don\u2019t know why I\u2019d ever change that. For me, I\u2019m always going to work as hard as I can, and when the coach makes his final decision, he makes his final decision, and I\u2019ll be at peace knowing that I put everything I had behind it.”<\/p>\n Turner arrived at camp in good form. He\u2019s third in MLS with a save percentage of 78.2%, while Freese, who plays for New York City FC, is sixth at 73.9%. Asked if he feels like that could give him some kind of advantage, Turner was realistic.<\/p>\n “I mean, you obviously wish you had the body of work with the national team in the last year to also rely on,” Turner said frankly. “But yeah, I think form at the club level is really, really important. And in the end, after evaluating training and recent performances, I think the coaches are going to put together the best connection of guys and the ones that can make the biggest difference in the game.”<\/p>\n It\u2019s still somewhat unclear how tight Freese\u2019s grip is on the job. During the March window, for example, Turner started a 5-2 loss to Belgium, and Freese got the nod in a 2-0 defeat to Portugal. Turner and Brady split minutes against Senegal, and Freese is expected to start Saturday\u2019s World Cup sendoff match against Germany.<\/p>\n Does Freese feel unsettled when teammates\u2019 names get called over his?<\/p>\n “Immediately when that happens, you\u2019re thinking, \u2018OK, well, how can I help the team?\u2019” Freese, 27, said. “And then, you know, proving yourself in training and setting yourself up for a good match the next time you get in there.”<\/p>\n USA goalkeepers Matt Turner, Matt Freese and Chris Brady at the USA’s training facility in March. (Photo by John Dorton\/ISI Photos\/USSF\/Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" POPULAR SEARCHES BROWSE BY ATLANTA \u2014 Matt Turner envisions the scene on a daily basis. On June 12, when the U.S. men\u2019s national team steps onto the pitch for its opening World Cup match against Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium, Turner will take it all in. The roar of 70,000-plus fans. The teams emerging from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4376,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}