The start of the season has not been kind to the goalies at the top of the United States men’s national team. Matt Turner sat on the front of the couch Nottingham Forest opening game of the season, and Ethan Horvath had a match to forget if Cardiff city was defeated 5-0 Burnley. Not only did Horvath turn a simple back pass into an own goal to forget, but he also allowed five goals from four shots on target and an xG of 0.83.
Take a look at the own goal:
Now that you’ve finished clearing your mind of that, it’s safe to say it wasn’t a great day for the goalies who should be atop the USMNT depth chart, which will raise concerns for expected new coach Mauricio Pochettino. This is a country with a rich history of strong goalkeeping, but since the retirement of Tim Howard it has seen a rotating cast of goalkeepers competing for playing time in Europe. Given Horvath’s performances and Turner’s lack of playing time, if Pochettino wants to prioritize a starting goalkeeper at their club, he may have to dig a little deeper.
At the Olympics the goalkeeper’s room was a starter Patrick Schulte and backup Gaga Slonina for the U.S. U-23s. Schulte had a slow start to the tournament, but finished strong. One of the best goalkeepers in Major League Soccer for the Columbus crewSchulte is someone who is not far away from a serious chance with the senior national team, but he may have to hold off Slonina to do it.
Recently moved to Barnsley in League One, on loan from ChelseaSlonina has made just two appearances for the Tykes so far, but has put in impressive performances in both matches in a quest for promotion. Slonina saved two penalties in an EFL Cup shootout before shining in his first league match, a 2-1 win over Lincoln City.
Against fifteen shots, Slonina made seven saves, allowing just one goal from an xG of 1.52. After a mixed rental period at Eupen Belgium Last season, this was exactly the kind of start the 20-year-old needed for his development. Playing for a club where he is constantly under pressure will push Sloninia to do his best every day and he has tangible short and long term goals.
Just pushing Barnsley to promotion will be an achievement, but if he can keep up performances like Saturday’s, there’s no reason why Slonina can’t also be the starting goalkeeper for the USMNT in 2026, especially since others haven’t gotten in yet have passed.