USMNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath’s blunder, performance vs. Burnley won’t help case with Mauricio Pochettino
The beginning of the season has not been kind to the keepers atop the United States men’s national team depth chart. Matt Turner was benched for Nottingham Forest’s opening match of the season, and Ethan Horvath had a match to forget as Cardiff City got bludgeoned 5-0 by Burnley. Not only did Horvath turn a simple backpass into an own goal to forget, but he allowed five goals from four shots on target and an xG of 0.83.
Now that you’re done cleansing your mind of that, it’s safe to say that it wasn’t a great day for the keepers who are supposed to be atop the USMNT depth chart which will cause concern for expected incoming coach Mauricio Pochettino. This is a nation that has a rich history of strong keeper play but since Tim Howard’s retirement, it has been a rotating cast of keepers struggling for playing time in Europe. Given Horvath’s performance and Turner’s lack of playing time, if Pochettino wants to prioritize a keeper starting for their club, he may have to go a little deeper.
At the Olympics, the keeper room was starter Patrick Schulte and backup Gaga Slonina for the U.S. U-23s. Schulte got off to a slow start to the tournament but had a strong finish. One of the top keepers in Major League Soccer for the Columbus Crew, Schulte is someone who isn’t far away from getting a serious chance with the senior national team but he may have to hold off Slonina to do it.
Recently moving to Barnsley in League One on loan from Chelsea, Slonina has only played two matches for the Tykes so far but has put up impressive performances in both in a quest for promotion. Slonina saved two penalties in an EFL Cup shootout before dazzling in his first league match, a 2-1 victory over Lincoln City.
Facing 15 shots, Slonina made seven saves, allowing only one goal from an xG of 1.52. After a mixed loan spell with Eupen in Belgium last season, this is exactly the kind of start that the 20-year-old needs for his development. Being at a club where he plays consistently under pressure will push Sloninia to do his best each day and there are tangible short-term and long-term goals at the end for him.
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