Sean Johnson makes his case as USMNT draws Uruguay 0-0 in friendly

The New York City FC shot-stopper has an intriguing advantage on his competition: He starts every week

The U.S. men’s national team drew Uruguay 0-0 in a friendly in Kansas City that contained a strange debate over substitutions and few quality chances.

Perhaps most notably for the USMNT, though, Sean Johnson impressed in goal, as the New York City FC goalkeeper took full advantage of his first cap since early 2020.

Gregg Berhalter may not have to elevate Johnson on his depth chart just yet, but the USMNT boss could be tempted to give the 33-year-old another chance after his display on Sunday.

The best chances of the match came in the second half, and both fell to Uruguay. The first saw Johnson make a fantastic point-blank stop and the second, in stoppage time, saw Edinson Cavani miss a sitter that would’ve given his side the win.

The USMNT attack failed to hit the heights that it showed in a 3-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday night, as Uruguay’s organized defense helped keep the U.S. in check.

Jesús Ferreira had the best two chances of the match for the USMNT, but his 19th-minute shot inside the box was saved by Fernando Muslera before he headed a driven cross over from close range just a minute later.

The second half saw a kerfuffle over substitutions as Uruguay was allowed to make seven changes despite the friendly limiting each side to just six.

On the Fox broadcast, analyst Stuart Holden reported that the issue stemmed from Uruguay head coach Diego Alonso incorrectly believing the rule that allowed unlimited windows in which to make subs actually meant his side was allowed unlimited subs.

Johnson comes up big

Johnson took full advantage of his chance against some world-class attackers, making four saves including a true highlight-reel stop midway through the second half.

Johnson also completed all 27 of his passes in the match.

Though Johnson is behind Matt Turner and Zack Steffen on the USMNT depth chart, he does have an intriguing leg up over his competitors: he is starting every week.

Turner is expected to be a backup initially when he moves to Arsenal later this summer, while Steffen has been a backup for several seasons at Manchester City. Ethan Horvath, who is also on this USMNT roster, was a backup at Nottingham Forest this season as the club was promoted to the Premier League.

How much that affects Berhalter’s thinking about a position very much in flux remains to be seen but if the NYCFC keeper is given more chances, and produces more performances like Sunday, he could be a late-charging candidate to start in Qatar.

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