Arsenal goalkeeper Matt Turner started for the USA against England at the World Cup last night, and the American looked very, very good.
The Three Lions were awful for most parts off the game. They were arguably lucky to come away with a point, but if they had a bit of fortune go their way in the first half, they could’ve picked up a win.
Turner denied England’s clearest chance of the game with a superb save.
Arsenal’s Matt Turner told he ‘scared’ everyone after what he did in Qatar yesterday
Before USA’s opening game against Wales at the World Cup, Turner came under some criticism from Kevin Kilbane.
“I don’t rate him. I don’t see him as a real top-class goalkeeper,” the Irishman said about the Arsenal shot-stopper, and that became a bit of a worry for fans of the USMNT.
However, after watching him twice in Qatar, we can safely say that Turner is more than good enough.
The American saved his side against Wales with a tremendous stop to deny Tottenham’s Ben Davies. He did that again last night, to keep Mason Mount away from scoring his first-ever World Cup goal.
Turner was brilliant and his country’s media rate him very highly now. However, there was a moment in the second half last night where he just charged out with the ball at his feet. That, as USA Today describes, ‘scared’ many people.
The outlet wrote: “It’s fair to give Turner a bump for his sharp save near the end of the first half, and for multiple good decisions to distribute quickly. In particular, quick outlets to Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic both ended up creating dangerous breaks forward.
“Let’s also acknowledge that he scared just about every USMNT fan by calmly dribbling while well outside the box in the 87th minute. It probably struck people as completely bonkers, but a) it broke a line of English pressure, and b) it came at a moment where someone in blue (or in Turner’s case, orange) had to show some composure to calm the group down.”
CBS Sports wrote: “Really great save on Mason Mount late in the first half and was a sure thing with the ball in the air. Made three total saves. Showed patience with the ball at his feet to wait for the windows to pass to open up. Just a reassuring performance, cementing his spot as the No. 1 goalkeeper.”
Both outlets gave him a 7/10 rating for his display against England last night.
When Turner completed his £7.5 million (Evening Standard) move from New England Revolution to Arsenal in the summer, not many people expected him to be at the level required to be a top-class goalkeeper.
To be fair to the critics, the American hadn’t ever played in Europe before, and the concerns were justified.
However, Turner has gone from strength to strength since. His improvement in every game has been evident for everyone to see, and his performance last night – especially with the ball at his feet – was arguably as good as Aaron Ramsdale when he’s at his best.
Turner’s confidence would surely be sky-high now, and that’s great news for both the USMNT and Arsenal.
