Matt Turner committed to USMNT No. 1 job despite backup club role

When you look at a lot of No. 1 international goalkeepers, most of them are also starters at club level, however Matt Turner is a rare exception for the U.S. men’s national team.

Turner recently completed his first season with English Premier League side Nottingham Forest, jumping right into Steve Cooper’s squad during the first half of the campaign before also featuring under Nuno Espírito Santo’s early time with the club in 2024.

However, Matz Sels arrival at the club last January eventually forced Turner to the bench, a spot where he remained for every league match from February 4 to May 19’s season finale.

Turner did feature in Forest’s final three FA Cup matches in January and February, while also logging 210 minutes in the USMNT’s March CONCACAF Nations League triumphs over Jamaica and Mexico. Now he’s back with Gregg Berhalter’s squad seeking to reclaim his No. 1 spot and play a vital role in pre-Copa America friendlies vs. Colombia and Brazil before the start of the tournament on June 23.

“I approach training every single day with the same mentality, whether I’m playing or whether I’m not,” Turner said in a press conference. “I work really, really hard. I try to get better in every area that I can and just be ready. I prepare for games as if I’m going to be playing, as exhausting as that can be; that hope that maybe my name will be on the team sheet for that game, even though when I know probably in the back of my mind it’s not. I prepare like maybe it will be. What if it is?

“So 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, I’ve got to perform when I come here,” he added. “So I have to stay engaged, I have to stay ready and focused and driven.”

While Turner struggled for consistent minutes during Forest’s 2024 schedule, Ethan Horvath did not. Horvath played in each of the final 16 league matches for EFL Championship side Cardiff City this season, after making a permanent move there from Nottingham Forest in January.

The 28-year-old has mainly served as Turner’s backup with the USMNT over recent years, making just two appearances since 2022 despite his improving club role in England’s second-tier.

Turner will expect competition yet again from Horvath this June and admitted he’ll do everything he can to keep his job after a first season in a new environment.

“I think I’ve just become overall a lot more adaptive. I’ve had to learn how to do certain things maybe I wasn’t so comfortable with on the fly,” Turner said. “I think I’ve become a lot better at dealing with balls into the area, coming for crosses, defending the space behind my back line as well. And yeah, going through hard times on the pitch sometimes and then having to level out and put in a good performance after.

“I’ve changed so much as a person in my family life, as a player and I’ll just continue to use every experience that I get as fuel to drive me forward and keep getting better and keep being a guy, whether it be a good or a bad experience, that has a smile on my face that guys can look up to,” he added.