Pochettino’s USMNT GK Choice: How Freese, Steffen or Turner Can Win the Job

Of all the positions on the United States Soccer men’s national team roster for next summer, none pose more questions than the goalkeeping job.

Matt Freese, Zack Steffen and Matt Turner are all in the running, we think. Beyond that, though, it’s anyone’s guess who will in starting privileges after a summer that provided less clarity than manager Mauricio Pochettino may have hoped.

Freese was good but not great as the USA starter at the Concacaf Gold Cup. Steffen’s knee injury ruled him out entirely. Turner desperately needs more club games after a potential transfer to Ligue 1’s Lyon appears to be at risk of falling through due to Lyon‘s ongoing financial strife.

Here are some of the factors that could ultimately decide whom Pochettino names as his top man in goal.

MLS Form and Playoff Qualification

Strong team play doesn’t mean strong GK play, but it does guarantee more games

While excellent goalkeeping can go a long way toward earning points, you can also very easily find goalkeepers having excellent seasons for bad teams, and vice versa.

And in the modern era, the simplest analytic measure to use to evaluate goalkeepers independent of team play is probably post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed, or PSxG+/-, for short. You might also call it goals saved.

Essentially, it measures the goals a ‘keeper would be expected to concede based on the shots he faces, relative to how many are actually conceded.

The Colorado Rapids‘ Steffen and New York City FC‘s Freese are both above average here in MLS this season, but Steffen is elite: His estimated +0.35 goals saved per 90 minutes is the second-highest in all MLS behind only Toronto FC’s Sean Johnson, who at age 36 seems unlikely to work back into the U.S. picture.

Another looming variable may be how deep Freese and Steffen’s teams go into the postseason, or whether they even qualify. A team that finishes outside the playoffs entirely is done with competitive fixtures in mid-October. A team reaching MLS Cup plays until early December.

Both the Rapids and NYCFC are just barely inside the playoff field at the moment. And either one failing to reach the postseason could be a major detriment to their respective goalkeepers, who are hoping to remain in strong form for their national team boss.

Turner’s Transfer Situation

The former NE Revs No. 1 desperately needs more match action

At first, Turner’s potential transfer to Lyon looked like an ideal move. While Ligue 1 isn’t the Premier League, it’s a solid step up from a possible loan to the EFL Championship. And so long as Dean Henderson remains available at Crystal Palace, Turner is likely to continue as a backup who, at best, only plays during early round cup games.

There’s also recent proof of concept in another former New England Revolution standout Djordje Petrovic playing superbly in 31 league starts for RC Strasbourg last season on loan from Chelsea. The Serbian ranked among the division’s best goalkeepers in goals saved, and led all of France’s top flight with a 78.9% save percentage.

With Turner’s move to the seven-time French champions apparently stalled, he needs the right alternative transaction to develop quickly.

A move back to MLS might be the easiest to arrange, given how many clubs could use the goalkeeping upgrade Turner would provide. But it would almost certainly mean fewer matches to re-prove himself between now and next June compared to a European squad eyeing a full season ahead. Turner may not be able to afford that, given the match deficit he ran last year compared to Freese and Steffen.

Other Criteria and Preferences

Like all roster decisions, more subtle factors could also play a role here

And as with all roster decisions, Pochettino’s thinking may be more nuanced than simply evaluating who does best at their club between now and next spring.

If Pochettino believes high-leverage experience matters, Freese may still be at a disadvantage compared to Turner and Steffen despite his 2025 Gold Cup performance. Turner has already played in a World Cup. Both Turner and Steffen have played at enormous clubs in Arsenal and Manchester City, respectively, even if they were seldom used. Those kinds of experiences prepare you for the media microscope of a World Cup in a way the Gold Cup or other USMNT games just don’t.

There’s each man’s ability with the ball at his feet, something Pochettino has clearly valued during his club managerial career. All three have made high-profile mistakes with their feet in the past, but Steffen is probably the best passer.

There are personal relationships. Freese and Turner have both shared considerably more time in Pochettino’s orbit than Steffen because of the latter’s injury absence at the Gold Cup.

And of course, there’s health. Turner and Freese have generally been more durable than Steffen, but a lot can happen in almost 11 months.