Tag: Matt Turner

Colombia’s Santos Borre scores incredible bicycle kick goal vs. USMNT

Colombia produced a true golazo against the USMNT

Colombia brought some magic to Commanders Field, much to the chagrin of the U.S. men’s national team.

Rafael Santos Borré contorted himself to produce a spectacular overhead kick as los Cafeteros took on the USMNT in a friendly on Saturday.

With Colombia already leading 1-0 after an early Jhon Arias goal, a short-corner routine initially seemed to have fizzled out. Arias’ intial service towards the middle of the goalmouth found only Tim Ream, but the veteran center back’s header popped the ball more or less straight up into the air.

Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma took advantage, rising over defenders Joe Scally and Johnny Cardoso to bravely keep the play alive.

Still, most of the work had yet to be done. Santos Borré was spinning away from the U.S. goal before he even saw Lerma’s header coming his way.

The Internacional forward had to improvise, and what followed was stupendous. The 28-year-old twisted himself before jumping up to thump the ball past Matt Turner in the 19th minute.

Turner may look back and think this was a save he could have made, but the decidedly pro-Colombia crowd in Landover, Md. wasn’t concerned one bit.

The golazo ended up being a match-winner for Colombia, though the CONMEBOL powers didn’t exactly need a wonder-goal to get the job done. A miserable second half from the USMNT saw Colombia run out 5-1 winners.

Watch Santos Borré’s bicycle kick

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Turner on difficult spell at Nottingham Forest: ‘I have to stay ready’

The USMNT goalkeeper said he has to prepare every game like he’s starting

Matt Turner has spoken about his battle to maintain his mental sharpness amid an extended spell on the bench at Nottingham Forest.

Turner began the season as Forest’s starter, but the U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper would eventually lose his position twice during the course of the season.

The second time saw Forest sign Matz Sels from Strasbourg in February, and the Belgium international immediately consigned Turner to the bench on a more permanent basis.

After Sels arrived, Turner didn’t play again in the Premier League, and made just two FA Cup appearances the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

Turner is now with the USMNT, where he is still expected to be the team’s starter this summer during the Copa América.

The 29-year-old spoke to the media from camp on Wednesday, opening up on how he aimed to maintain his focus amid a difficult period at his club.

“Fortunately, but also unfortunately for me, it’s not the first time I’ve had to go through periods like that in my life and my career,” Turner said.

“So for me, I approach training every single day with the same mentality whether I’m playing or whether I’m not. I work really, really hard. I try to get better in every area that I can and just be ready.

“I prepare for games like I’m going to be playing, as exhausting as that can be — that hope that maybe my name will be on the teamsheet for that game. Even though I know probably in the back of my mind it’s not, I prepare like maybe it will be. What if it is?”

Turner added that part of his motivation for continuing to put every ounce of himself into club training is his desire to maintain his starting role with the USMNT.

Even with sporadic club minutes, Turner has held onto the U.S. starting position since the 2022 World Cup.

“I try to just maintain that level of professionalism every single day, every training session and just keep going and understanding that obviously, if I want to keep this shirt here (with the USMNT), I’ve got to perform when I come here,” he said. “So I have to stay engaged, I have to stay ready and focused and driven.”

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Was Matt Turner’s replacement at Nottingham Forest even worse?

Stats suggest that Matz Sels wasn’t the answer to Forest’s goalkeeping woes

It was hardly a surprise when Matt Turner was replaced by Nottingham Forest at midseason.

The U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper had plenty of chances to establish himself as the starter at Forest, but a series of high-profile errors eventually became too much for manager Nuno Espírito Santo to bear.

Forest signed Matz Sels from Strasbourg in February, and the Belgium international immediately stepped in as the club’s starter.

After Sels arrived, Turner didn’t play again in the Premier League, and made just two FA Cup appearances the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

Sels appeared to do an admirable enough job replacing the U.S. men’s national team starter, avoiding the kind of calamitous errors his predecessor made while helping guide Forest to Premier League safety.

But a look at the numbers (all stats via FBref) shows that in some ways, Sels was actually a downgrade on Turner. Sels started 16 Premier League games while Turner started 17, so we have basically an equal body of work to compare.

The keepers also had nearly identical league records as starters, with Forest at 4W-4D-8L under Sels and 4W-5D-8L under Turner.

When it comes to the “goals prevented” stat — one of the most significant indicators of a goalkeeper’s ability to stop shots — Turner was significantly better than Sels. Though we should clarify: neither was very good!

Sels has a goals prevented of -7.8, the second-worst mark in the entire division. Turner came in at -5.9. Essentially, Sels cost his team two more goals than Turner.

In the more standard stat of save percentage, Turner is also ahead 67.5% to 57.4%.

When it comes to cutting out crosses, Turner stopped 10.1% of those into his box compared to just 4.9% for Sels. The Belgian’s poor command of his box is also shown by his concession of nine goals from corner kicks, compared to four for Turner.

What about distribution, which has seemingly been Turner’s Achilles heel? Both goalkeepers have nearly identical passing percentages when it comes to short and medium-range passes, while Turner is actually ahead 49.1% to 45% in long-range passing.

There is one area where Sels was superior, which won’t come as a major surprise: Turner made three errors leading to a goal, while the Belgian made only one, per stats from the Premier League. FBref has Turner at four errors leading to an opponent’s shot, compared to one for Sels.

What does this all mean? The stats seem to confirm the eye test with Turner: cut out the major mistakes, and there’s still a decent goalkeeper in there somewhere.

Regardless of some areas of superiority to Sels, it seems unlikely that Turner will ever get his job back at Forest. If the USMNT shot-stopper wants to avoid spending the better part of next season on the bench, he’ll probably have to find another new club in the summer.

For Nottingham Forest, though, it doesn’t look like signing Sels was the solution to its goalkeeping woes that it may have hoped.

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Turner open to ‘move backwards’ if Nottingham Forest stint doesn’t work out

Could the USMNT goalkeeper be on the move yet again?

Matt Turner has admitted he won’t hesitate to seek out another club if things don’t work out for him at Nottingham Forest.

After one year as Arsenal’s backup goalkeeper, Turner moved on to Forest last summer and began the season as the starter. But after being benched in the fall, only to regain his place, Turner was again replaced in the winter transfer window after Forest signed Matz Sels from Strasbourg.

Sels has become the full-time starter at Forest, with Turner only playing in cup matches since the Belgian’s arrival.

Ahead of the U.S. national team’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica, Turner spoke with USMNT legend Tim Howard about his place on head coach Gregg Berhalter’s depth chart.

“Obviously in a perfect world, in Gregg’s mind, I’m playing week-in, week-out, I’m in good form all the time, and then I’m playing well for the national team all the time. Unfortunately that’s not the reality right now,” Turner told the Daily Mail.

“But I’ve grown a lot as a goalkeeper in this last year — and also as a person… maybe I don’t have the greatest playing experience resume, but as like a life experience resume, I think I top almost any professional footballer in the world.”

Turner added: “Gregg understands the situation… we’ll sort out the club situation on the other side. I’ve had some good conversations with Nuno [Espírito Santo, Forest head coach] and they like what they see from me.”

After spending his first season in England as Arsenal’s backup, Turner said he went to the club’s leadership to inquire about his long-term status with the team.

Unable to receive assurances over a shot at playing, Turner sought a move away from north London. The 29-year-old admitted that he may be forced to have a similar conversation with Forest leadership.

“I’m not in the business of wasting time,” he said. “If it doesn’t work out for me here, then I can always move backwards. But when the opportunity presented itself… I had to jump at it.”

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NFL star and former MLS defender Aubrey pays visit to USMNT camp

Brandon Aubrey, a former MLS draft pick who led the NFL in scoring last season, stopped by USMNT camp this week

The U.S. men’s national team had a special guest at Tuesday’s practice, a familiar face for fans in Dallas.

The USMNT invited Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey to a training session ahead of Thursday’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal showdown with Jamaica at AT&T Stadium.

Aubrey, 29, emerged as one of the best kickers in the NFL last season, but his professional sports career actually started in soccer.

Aubrey was a defender at Notre Dame from 2013-2016, scoring 15 goals and earning first-team All-ACC recognition with the Fighting Irish. He was drafted by Toronto FC in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

The defender spent his first season on loan to Toronto’s second team (a USL squad at the time), then he spent one year with Bethlehem Steel FC (another USL team that formerly served as a Philadelphia Union affiliate). After 47 appearances in the USL, Aubrey was out of soccer by 2019.

Aubrey started working as a software engineer. While watching an NFL game in 2019, Aubrey and his wife looked on as a kicker missed an attempt.

“You could do that,” she told him.

So he did.

Aubrey hired a kicking coach and he worked in his garage during the pandemic. After three years of training, he finally got an opportunity with the Birmingham Stallions (then of the USFL, a league that has since merged with the XFL to form the UFL).

In his first season as a professional kicker, Aubrey made the All-USFL first-team and he won back-to-back championships with the Stallions. After going 32-of-37 on field goal attempts in the spring league, Aubrey was invited to Cowboys training camp last summer.

Aubrey ended up winning Dallas’ starting kicker job and he went on to go 36-of-38 on field goal attempts in 2023, leading the NFL with 157 points. He quickly established himself as one of the best kickers in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in his first season.

Aubrey is following in the footsteps of Josh Lambo, who switched from soccer to American football and went on to have a seven-year career as a kicker in the NFL. If his first season is any indication of what’s to come, Aubrey is well on his way to surpassing Lambo’s feats.

The winner of the USA-Jamacia match on Thursday will advance to face the winner of the Mexico-Panama clash in the Concacaf Nations League final at the Cowboys’ stadium on Sunday night.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Christian Pulisic is having fun

The USMNT star has finally found a team where he’s put in the best position to succeed

Christian Pulisic hasn’t exactly hidden that he was sort of miserable at the end of his time at Chelsea.

Even while he was still a Chelsea player this summer, Pulisic wasn’t afraid to say he had been recently finding it difficult to simply enjoy the game.

A few months later, the 25-year-old is, per his own words, “having fun” again. Leaving the ongoing disaster that is Chelsea certainly helped, but Pulisic needed to find the right destination as well.

That is exactly what AC Milan appears to be, at least a couple months into the U.S. national team star’s time with the Italian side.

In Italy, Pulisic has found what was so glaringly absent for much of his time at Chelsea: a coach who fully believes in him, makes him one of the focal points of his game plan, and plays him in a position where he can be most effective.

It’s safe to say the following scene probably would never have happened with the revolving door of managers Pulisic played under at Stamford Bridge:

This week’s Five leads off with Pulisic’s hot start turning into a more sustained run of form with the Rossoneri.

Turner admits he’s ‘glad VAR didn’t intervene’ on error vs. Brentford

The USMNT goalkeeper admitted his overall performance was not up to standard

Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner admitted he was lucky to escape punishment after nearly conceding a penalty when he was caught in possession against Brentford on Sunday.

With the game scoreless in the second half, Turner took too long on the ball in his box and saw Yoane Wissa win the ball with a clean challenge. The American goalkeeper was in the middle of trying to boot the ball away, and his follow-through took out the Brentford forward after he had sent the ball toward goal with his tackle.

Wissa’s shot was cleared off the line, and Turner was fortunate the incident didn’t go to a video review after he clearly hacked down the forward and got none of the ball in the process.

Christian Nørgaard gave Brentford the lead minutes later on a header Turner could have arguably saved, putting the Bees ahead just two minutes after Moussa Niakhaté was sent off for Forest.

But the 10-man home side would strike back through Nicolás Domínguez to level the match at 1-1, which would end up as the final score.

Speaking to NBC Sports after the game, Turner held his hand up — not only for his error in the Wissa incident, but also for the goal he conceded and a performance that he admitted was shaky on the whole.

“Personally it feels like two [points] dropped but at the end of the day you have to take the positives on it. I look myself in the mirror on that first goal and I know I’ve gotta be better for teammates especially in that moment right after getting the red card,” Turner said.

“For us to concede in the fashion that we did, I shoulder that burden for sure. The response was amazing, some unbelievable individual plays down the stretch. Every point is crucial in this league. It feels like two dropped, but it’s a weird one.”

The USMNT No. 1 added: “It was a terrible start for me in the second half in general. The ball was slow. I wasn’t getting it out of my feet and [Wissa] was pressing me really hard. I was a little bit worried but I tried to hold back as much as I could, because I knew he was going to win it. I’m glad VAR didn’t intervene because that would have made things go from bad to worse for me.”

“But I’m proud of myself, also because of my response the rest of the game, keeping it a one [goal conceded] and coming for some crosses late to relieve pressure.”

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Americans in the Premier League in 2023-24

Eight USMNT players are in the English top flight this season

The U.S. contingent on Premier League rosters may have diminished in the last couple of months, but the group is still solid.

Even after Serie A became the summer’s hot new league to play in for U.S. men’s national team players, eight remain on rosters in the English top flight.

With Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson holding it down at Fulham, and moves for Tyler Adams and Matt Turner to stay in the English top flight, four players seem set for plenty of starts in the world’s most highly-regarded league.

On the other hand, a quartet of players face something of a battle for minutes at their clubs, though Chris Richards has at least appeared in cup play for Crystal Palace.

Here are the eight Americans playing in the Premier League this season:

The Americans Abroad Five: PSV showing promise for USMNT trio

Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi should all be big factors for the Dutch giants this season

In the span of just a few months, PSV became one of the first clubs on the list of anyone monitoring Americans Abroad.

Three players who figure to play a key role over the next decade for the U.S. men’s national team — Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi — all joined the Dutch giants over the summer.

The transformation of PSV into a hub for Americans is largely due to Earnie Stewart, the former sporting director of U.S. Soccer who now holds the same position with PSV.

The season is still young, but there are some promising signs coming out of Eindhoven for all three USMNT players.

Dest looks to be the player who’s immediately benefitted the most, but Tillman and Pepi can also be encouraged by their first month at the club.

Let’s kick off this week’s Five with a look at PSV’s American trio.

Turner picks ideal time for first Premier League shutout

Turner needed to make a statement after Forest signed Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica

Matt Turner needed to make a statement on Saturday, one day after Nottingham Forest brought in some real competition for his place in goal.

A clean sheet and a victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge? That’ll do.

Forest beat Chelsea 1-0 in a league encounter, as Anthony Elanga’s goal just after halftime sealed an upset win for Steve Cooper’s side.

Turner wasn’t called upon too much in the game, but did everything asked of him and made two saves. The U.S. men’s national team starter had to be particularly alert late in the match, as he saved at his near post from Thiago Silva.

It was Turner’s first career Premier League clean sheet in his fourth start. The timing couldn’t have been better, as the USMNT No. 1 now looks to have some real competition for his starting role.

On Friday, Forest signed Odysseas Vlachodimos from Benfica in a deal worth a reported €8 million.

Vlachodimos is not the kind of goalkeeper who will join Forest expecting to be a backup. The Greece international made well over 200 appearances for Benfica over five seasons, winning two Portuguese league titles and helping the club reach the Champions League quarterfinals twice.

Turner would appear to have a slight advantage right now, as the incumbent who has put together a strong start to the season. But any slip-up will open the door for Vlachodimos, who has the quality to seize the job himself.

The USMNT man will have to be at his best all season and in his first four Premier League games at least, he’s been at the level he’ll need to hold off some stiff competition.

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