USWNT SheBelieves Cup US Ties 0-0, Plays NZ Sun 3 pm ABC
So the US ladies unleashed the youngsters — and yes it was great to see some younger players in the mix- especially up front as Alex Morgan, Christian Press, Tobin Heath and Megan Rapino all being left off in favor of youngsters Mallory Pugh, Ashley Hatch, Sophia Smith and Catarina Macario. And all they did vs the lightly regarded Czech Republic was ah – not win. Yes the US dominated with 64% of the possession and in shots 18 (8 on target) to 6 (1 on target). But without the veterans the US youngsters could not unlock the Czechs or GK Votiko who stood on her head Thurs night. The Zero – Zero tie was certainly super disappointing as the youngsters dominated but could not find the winner.
Rodman makes debut as USWNT fall to 0-0 draw
Young USWNT team struggles offensively in scoreless draw with Czech Republic
USWNT SheBelieves Cup roster
GOALKEEPERS: Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit; 0), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage; 2), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 78)
DEFENDERS: Alana Cook (OL Reign; 4/0), Abby Dahlkemper (San Diego Wave FC; 77/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 45/1), Emily Fox (Racing Louisville FC; 8/0), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign; 9/0), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 148/2), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 63/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 199/0)
MIDFIELDERS: Morgan Gautrat (Chicago Red Stars; 87/8), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyonnais; 108/25), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 68/18), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais; 12/3), Kristie Mewis (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 33/4), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit; 2/0), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 22/2)
FORWARDS: Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit; 4/2), Mallory Pugh (Chicago Red Stars; 67/18), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 9/2), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC; 10/1), Lynn Williams (Kansas City Current; 45/14)
Champions league Sweet 16 on CBS Tues/Wed
Wow what a game – as the huge PSG vs Real Madrid was thrilling – from the Belgium Wall Madrid GK Courtois saving a late Messi PK before PSG’s Mbappe finished it with a Goalazo in the 93rd minute to give them the 1-0 lead heading to Madrid next month.
Mbappe Scores in the 94 minute Now a Proper Call in Spanish Extended highlights Courtois Great Saves
Then US winger/#10 Brendan Aaronson had this assist as Austria’s Salzburg shocked Bayern Munich with an early goal before settling for a 1-1 tie in the first leg. Of course Liverpool dominted Milan 2-0 and Man City embarrassed 5-0 in the other games. This week gives us the defending Champs Chelsea and American Pulisic hosting Lille and American winger Tim Weah on Tuesday on CBS at 3 pm while Juventus and American McKinney are traveling to tourney strong Villareal at 3 pm on Paramount +. Wednesday gives us Man United and Renaldo traveling to Atletico Madrid at 3 pm on CBS and Benfica vs Ajax on Paramout + at 3 pm. Don’t miss the full hour long pregame starting at 2 pm each day. (see stories below) Thurs/Fri Europa League will be featured on Paramount+ and Concacaf Champions League CCL will be on Fox Sports 1&2. (see TV schedule below)
======================RackZ BAR BQ ==================================
Heading over to the Field House at Badger Field for Training? Try out the Best BarBQ in Town right across the street (131st) from Northview Church on the corner of Hazelldell & 131st. RackZ BBQ
Save 10% on your order (mention the ole ballcoach)
Check out the best dang Brunswich Stew I have had (almost as good as my mema’s) or the BarBQ Ribs, Pork, Brisket, Chicken & More. Sweet, Tangy or Spicy sauce. Mention you heard about it from the Ole Ballcoach — and Ryan will give you 10% off your next meal. https://www.rackzbbqindy.com/ Call ahead at 317-688-7290 M-Th 11-8 pm, 11-9 Fri/Sat, 12-8 pm on Sunday. Pick some up after practice – Its good eatin! You won’t be disappointed and tell ’em the Ole Ballcoach Sent You!
=====================RackZ BAR BBQ ==================================
BIG GAMES TO WATCH
Fri, Feb 18
2:45 pm CBSSN Juventus (McKinney) vs Torino
3 pm bein Sports Lille (Weah) vs Metz
3 pm ESPN+ Mainz vs Leverkusen
Sat, Feb 19
9:30 am Peacock West Ham vs New Castle
10 am Peacock Arsenal vs Brentford
930 am ESPN+ Wolfsburg (Brooks) vs Hoffenhiem ( )
10 am USA Crystal Palace vs Chelsea (Pulisic)
10:!5 am ESPN+ Osasusuna vs Atletico
12:30 pm NBC Man City vs Tottenham
3 pm ABC Real Madrid vs Alaves
Sun, Feb 20
9 am USA Leeds United vs Man United
10:!5 am ESPN+ Valencia vs Barcelona (Dest)
11:30 am ESPN+ Dortmund (Reyna) vs Bayer MGladbach (Scally)
11:30 am USA Woverhampton v Leicester City
3 pm ESPN+ Atletic Club vs Real Sociadad
3 pm ABC USWNT vs New Zealand – She Believes Cup
6 pm ESPN3 Iceland vs Czech Republic – She Believes Cup
Tues, Feb 22 – Champions League – Sweet 16
3 pm CBS Chelsea (Pulisic) vs Lille (Weah)
3 pm Para+, Univision Villareal vs Juventus (McKinney)
Weds, Feb 23 – Champions League – Sweet 16
3 pm CBS Atletico Madrid vs Man United
3 pm Para+, Univision Benfica vs Ajax
6 pm ESPN3 New Zealand vs Czech Republic – She Believes Cup
9 pm ESPN 2 USWNT vs Iceland – She Believes Cup
Thurs, Feb 24 – Europa + CCL
2:45 pm Peacock Arsenal vs Wolverhampton
12:45 pm Para+, Univ RB Leipzig (Adams) vs Real Sociedad
3 pm Para+, Univ Napoli vs Barcelona (Dest)
3 pm Para+, Univ Rangers (Sands) (4) vs Dortmund (2) (Reyna)
10:30 pm FS2 Seattle Sounders CCL vs CD Montagua
Fri, Feb 25
3 pm USA Southampton vs Norwich (Stewart)
Sat, Feb 26 – MLS Starts
7:30 am USA Leeds United vs Tottenham
10 am USA Man United vs Watford
12:30 pm NBC Everton vs Man City
1 pm Univision LAFC vs Colorado Rapids
7:30 pm Fox Portland Timbers vs New England
Sat, Feb 27– MLS Starts
11:30 am ESPN+ Chelsea (Pulisic) vs Liverpool League Cup
11:30 am ESPN+ Bochum vs Dortmund (Reyna)
1 pm ESPN+ Orlando City SC vs Montreal
3 pm Fox Sport1 Atlanta United vs Sporting KC
3 pm ESPN+ Barcelona vs Atheltic Club
5 pm ESPN LA Galaxy vs NYCFC
8 pm ESPN+ Seattle Sounders vs Nashville SC
US Women vs NZ at 3 pm Sun ABC
Young USWNT team struggles offensively in scoreless draw with Czech Republic
SheBelieves Cup: It’s time for USWNT to look beyond the veterans ASAP Julie Foudy
5 Things To Know About The SheBelieves Cup
Will Cordeiro return to rule US Soccer two years after alienating the USWNT?
US Men
Christian Pulisic: ‘I put too much pressure on myself’ while playing for USMNT
US stars Scally and Reyna face off in battle of the Borussias
Turner: Arsenal move won’t affect U.S. chances Jeff Carlisle ESPNFC
Aaronson ads $20 Million to his Value with Assist vs Bayern in Champs League Game
Brenden Aaronson Adds $20M To Price Tag With Standout Performance Vs. Bayern Munich
Brendan Aaronson had this assist
Champions League
King Kylian: Mbappe gives PSG blueprint for Champions League glory
Mbappe boosts PSG, gives Madrid glimpse of future
Late Mbappe winner as PSG beat Madrid in UCL
Sources: Real angry at Ancelotti approach at PSG
Firmino 9/10, Van Dijk 8/10 as Liverpool pass tough Inter Milan test
Salzburg proving Conte’s insistence on experience is outdated
Bayern strike late to snatch draw at Salzburg
Firmino, Salah score as Liverpool beat Inter
City’s record demolition of Sporting a clear message to UCL rivals
Europa League wrap: Barcelona rescue Napoli draw; Dortmund thumped by Rangers
Rangers stun Dortmund as Barca and Napoli draw in Europa League
Ranking MLS teams’ chances of winning 2022 Concacaf Champions League
EPL & World
Get Ready For EPL Weekend Action, Including Man City Vs. Spurs…
Antonio Conte Continues To Roast Spurs At A Level No Twitter…
Goalkeeping
Young USWNT team struggles offensively in scoreless draw with Czech Republic
Kevin BaxterFri, February 18, 2022, 1:15 AM LA times
Christen Press wasn’t in uniform when the women’s national team opened play in the SheBelieves Cup at Dignity Health Sports Park. Ditto Alex Morgan.There was no sign of Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath or Carli Lloyd either. And while that might sound like no big deal, it meant Thursday’s game with the Czech Republic was the first major tournament match the U.S. has played without at least one of its Fab Five forwards since 2007.The absences were felt, with their tentative young replacements taking 18 shots, putting eight on them goal, but failing to get any past Czech goalkeeper Barbora Votíková in settling for a scoreless draw. That’s not the start coach Vlatko Andonovski wanted for what could be the national team’s most thorough overhaul in more than a decade.The five veterans played in last summer’s Tokyo Olympics, where the roster the U.S. fielded was the oldest in the tournament and the forwards coach Andonovski started averaged 33 years of age. The Americans often looked their age, stumbling to a bronze medal.The three forwards Andonovski started Thursday — Sophia Smith, Catarina Macario and Mallory Pugh — averaged 22 years of age. And while the roster remake, which Andonovski calls a “refreshing,” might have begun a bit too late, it’s also starting a little early, just five months before qualifying begins for the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.And that leaves Andonovski facing an age-old problem: Who should stay and who could go?“All these players are very good players. They’ve done so much for this team and they’ve won everything possible,” Andonovski said of the veterans who weren’t called up this month. “But right now I want to give a chance to players like Sophie Smith and Mal Pugh and Catarina Macario.”That doesn’t mean time has passed for the older players. With the exception of Lloyd, who retired last fall, they all remain afloat in Andonovski’s player pool.
However, it does mean a resume is no longer enough to earn a spot on the team.“Players that have done well in the past are [not] just going to come back here in the next camp because they’ve done well a year ago or two years ago,” he said. “There’s a reason why we’re not calling Mia Hamm or Julie Foudy in. The same goes here: They need to perform and show that they can still contribute and be valuable for the national team.”Speaking of Foudy, she has seen this before. A two-time World Cup and Olympic champion, Foudy helped build the foundation of the national team, making her debut alongside Hamm in 1988, then retiring with her in 2004.
By then the two had passed the baton to Abby Wambach, who handed it to Lloyd, and then to Morgan and Rapinoe.“Typically, you stagger it a little more. You have layers of veterans with a lot of young kids,” Foudy said. “Vlatko has gone mostly young with just a couple of veterans, which seems a little jarring to some. But I do understand why he’s doing it. It’s probably not such a bad idea to put a little shot of energy to the veterans. ‘Hey, things aren’t necessarily as secure as you think they are.’ ”The next handoff has already started, perpetuating the Circle of Life that has long defined the women’s national team. The exchange got off to a slippery start, though, with the top-ranked U.S. outplaying the Czechs but failing to convert any of their chances, getting shutout at home for just the second time since 2017.“You look at the players that were on the field, how many times have they been on the field together?,” Andonovski said. “That’s something that will come with the minutes and games together. It’s not easy. It doesn’t matter how good they are and how much potential they have, to just throw them on the field and expect [them] to click immediately.
“We all know that’s how we look,” he continued, “and where we’re at is nowhere good enough to win games.”The last time the U.S. played a meaningful match without one of the Fab Five was in the 2007 World Cup, when both Lloyd and Hope Solo were on the bench, and Kristine Lilly wore the captain’s armband. Also missing Thursday were defender Abby Dahlkemper and midfielders Sam Mewis and Lindsey Horan, who are injured; outside back Crystal Dunn, who is pregnant; and midfielder Julie Ertz, who is out for undisclosed reasons. That left Andonovski without nine players he used in his team’s last competitive game in Tokyo.“There just didn’t seem to be a joy or an energy to that group,” Foudy said of the Olympic team. “With younger kids, they totally bring a really fun element because everything’s new to them. Everything’s exciting. You get kind of jaded as you get older. They bring fresh eyes, fresh blood.“Obviously the pendulum will rock back. It seems like it’s swinging really far, but in the end it will settle somewhere where there’s a balance.”
In the tournament opener, Dagný Brynjarsdóttir’s goal in the first minute lifted Iceland to a 1-0 win over New Zealand. The U.S. will meet New Zealand in the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader at Dignity Health Sports Park with the Czech Republic facing Iceland in the second game. The competition then moves to suburban Dallas for the final two games next Wednesday.
Trinity Rodman makes USWNT debut in SheBelieves draw with Czech Republic
2:27 AM ETAssociated Press
Trinity Rodman made her debut for the U.S. women’s national team in a 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic on Thursday in the SheBelieves Cup.
With some of the national team’s more recognizable stars — Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Christen Press and Tobin Heath — left off the roster for the tournament, coach Vlatko Andonovski made good on his pledge to evaluate young prospects.
The average age of the starting lineup was 25½, the youngest since April 2018. Five starters had fewer than 15 appearances with the team. Goalkeeper Casey Murphy was playing in just her third game.
“I’m happy with where they’re at right now,” Andonovski said. “But we all know that how we look and where we’re at is nowhere near enough to win big games.”odman, the 19-year-old daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman, came in as a substitute in the second half. She recently signed a four-year contract with the Washington Spirit worth a reported $1.1 million, making her the highest-paid player in the National Women’s Soccer League.
“Obviously we all know Trinity is a good player and I thought she was dangerous when she came in, got a couple of good opportunities and was threatening the backline of Czech Republic. And that was exciting to see her there,” Andonovski said.
The United States won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last year, and is preparing for World Cup qualifying this summer in Monterrey, Mexico. They are the defending World Cup champions.
The SheBelieves Cup, a four-team round-robin tournament, continues Sunday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles. The United States will face New Zealand while the Czech Republic faces Iceland.
Most of the players for the Czech Republic play in their home country, but there were handful of exceptions in the team’s lineup, including goalkeeper Barbora Votikova, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain, Andrea Staskova, a rising star with Juventus, and West Ham’s Katerina Svitkova.One of Votikova’s best saves was on a blast by Catarina Macario in the 29th minute. In the 66th minute, Rose Lavelle forced a near-post save, and a Kristie Mewis header in the middle of the box was stopped 10 minutes later.
Votikova stopped a shot from Rodman, who was ruled offside, in the 68th minute. The Czech goalkeeper finished with eight saves.
The Czech Republic is ranked No. 24 in the world. They’ll face Iceland on April 12 in World Cup qualifying.
Defender Becky Sauerbrunn became the 12th woman with 200 appearances for the U.S. women’s national team when she came in as a sub in the second half.
“It’s just about the journey, and the journey has been wild and it’s been tough, but it has been so rewarding,” Sauerbrunn said afterward. “And I feel very, truly fortunate that I’ve gotten to represent this team and this program 200 times.”
In the earlier game Thursday, Dagny Brynjarsdottir scored in the first 48 seconds and Iceland downed New Zealand 1-0. It was the fastest goal ever in the tournament, which is in its seventh year.
One highlight of the early match was Rebekah Scott’s return for New Zealand after a battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. She came in as a substitute in the 74th minute.
Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith headline USWNT players to watch at SheBelieves Cup
3:51 PM ETCaitlin Murray
The SheBelieves Cup, hosted by U.S. Soccer every spring, may not be a World Cup or an Olympics, but it has still become one of the most important events on the calendar for the U.S. women’s national team. That’s because the tournament has served as a valuable testing ground for new players in the USWNT, helping the next stars of the team secure their spots.
– Watch the SheBelieves Cup: USWNT vs. Czech Republic, 2/17, 11 p.m. ET, ESPN
Look no further than midfielder Rose Lavelle, who made her USWNT debut at the 2017 SheBelieves Cup. The USWNT played poorly overall, coming in last place, but Lavelle sparkled in that tournament and has been a mainstay ever since, eventually winning the Bronze Ball at the Women’s World Cup two years later. Defender Tierna Davidson has a similar story: she joined the 2018 SheBelieves Cup with just one cap to her name, but proved herself at the highest level and eventually secured a spot on the 2019 World Cup-winning squad.Now, with World Cup qualifiers this summer and the World Cup next year, USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski has made it clear he will be using the 2022 SheBelieves Cup starting this week to find the next stars of the team again. Veterans like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, Christen Press and Tobin Heath have been left off the roster in lieu of players who Andonovski says deserve a closer look.
“I want to give them maximum minutes or whatever minutes they earn so we can evaluate every aspect of their game, in the training environment or game setting,” Andonovski told ESPN, adding: “If in SheBelieves we call any of the senior players, then we’re not going to be able to see the younger ones.”
There are some younger players on the roster who have already found their breakthrough and are trying to keep or re-earn their spot, like Catarina Macario and Mallory Pugh, who have appeared in past Olympics or World Cups. But who are the newer players who could use this SheBelieves Cup as a launching pad to the 2023 World Cup and follow in the footsteps of Lavelle and Davidson?
Trinity Rodman | FW | Washington Spirit | Age: 19 | Caps: 0
Rodman has said she looks up to Heath, the USWNT winger known for her flashy style of play, as well as Press, the former target striker who has transformed herself into a crafty wide threat. But if Rodman’s SheBelieves Cup goes well, she could find herself taking a spot from Heath or Press, if not someone else.Rodman has never played with the senior national team, but she’s played against many of the players on the USWNT in the NWSL. Rodman led the NWSL in assists last season, and according to Opta she was also in the top 10 for expected assists, which measures the likelihood that a pass should turn into a goal. Her ability to set up her teammates is a nice complement to her nose for goal. Rodman typically attacks down the right side for the Spirit, but it’s common for her to flip to the left side, making her a diverse attacking threat. On a World Cup roster where flexibility is valuable, that should only help.At 19 years old, Rodman clearly has a long and bright future ahead of her. She recently signed a $1.1 million, four-year contract that her agency says will make her the highest-paid player in the NWSL. She was also named U.S. Soccer’s Young Female Player of the Year for 2021.
Sophia Smith | FW | Portland Thorns | Age: 21 | Caps: 10
Smith made history as the first teenager to be drafted into the NWSL at 19 years old — her record was later beaten by Rodman, who was drafted at 18 — and while she’s got the speed and finishing ability that are prerequisites for any good striker, Smith stands out for her work ethic and tenacity.No one won the ball more in the final third last season in the NWSL more than Smith, according to Opta stats. She had the fourth-highest expected goals, or xG, in the NWSL last season of anyone in the league — only Lynn Williams on the SheBelieves Cup roster finished with a higher xG. There’s something to be said about the level of service Smith was receiving at the Portland Thorns — the best chance creator last season was Thorns wingback Meghan Klingenberg — but Smith’s composure in front of goal and her willingness to take defenders on has been impressive from the 21-year-old.Mark Parsons, her coach at the Thorns, put Smith’s stellar season into perspective last summer: “She continues to move forward and nudge forward, but you’ve seen nothing yet. If this was a 100-meter sprint, she’s just starting to get out of the blocks. She’s not even upright yet and got out over 10 meters. This is nothing compared to what you’re going to see.”
Emily Fox | DF | Racing Louisville FC | Age: 23 | Caps: 8
The USWNT hasn’t had an optimal solution at left-back in years, and the spot is there for Fox to take. It’s true that Crystal Dunn has been a very effective left-back for the Americans — arguably, her stellar performance shutting Kadidiatou Diani was as much to credit with the U.S. reaching the semifinal of the 2019 World Cup as Rapinoe’s clinical finishing — but Dunn, as she has openly talked about, isn’t a natural defender and could potentially offer even more elsewhere on the pitch.
Now that Dunn is pregnant and will be out for the foreseeable future, the U.S. needs another solution anyway. In the past, the USWNT’s back-up left-back has been its starting right-back, Kelley O’Hara, which is not ideal either. At the next World Cup, Dunn would turn 31, O’Hara would be nearly 35 and the other left-back option, Casey Krueger (nee Short), would be almost 33. Andonovski has to look into the future with Fox.Fox ranks in the NWSL’s top five last season in recoveries, which is when a player wins the ball back after her team has lost possession. (No. 1 overall was midfielder Morgan Gautraut, nee Brian, who has earned his first call in more than two years for this edition of the SheBelieves Cup.) Based on last season’s NWSL stats, Fox’s ability to generate expected assists was almost as good as O’Hara, who won the NWSL Championship with the Washington Spirit.The question for Fox is whether she’ll be able to improve the attacking side of her game in order to fix the profile of the USWNT. After all, USWNT fullbacks tend to be expected to get forward and provide service in the attack every time the USWNT has the ball. In Dunn, the U.S. essentially had an attacker who also defends; Fox brings a different profile.
Ashley Sanchez | MF | Washington Spirit | Age: 22 | Caps: 2
Sanchez is a central attacking midfielder who can play as a No. 10 or a false nine, but she can also be effective when she floats into wider positions — her average heat map via Opta is just sort of all over the final third. She ranked in the top five last season in the NWSL for “big chances” created, which refers to chances that are expected to result in goals.She also once did this:
Margaret “Midge” Purce | FW | NJ/NY Gotham FC | Age: 26 | Caps: 9
Although Purce has nine caps with the USWNT, many of them have come outside the forward position she’s listed as for this SheBelieves Cup roster. Starting under former USWNT coach Jill Ellis, Purce has been stuck in the purgatory of playing as an attacker for her club, but being profiled as a possible defender — either a full-back or wing-back — for the national team.It’s easy to see how that happened. The forwards she would’ve had to try to replace included the likes of Morgan, Rapinoe, Press and Heath, not to mention the now-retired Carli Lloyd. All five of them were superb leading up to the last World Cup and during the tournament, and Pugh in her best form was stiff competition as well. With the USWNT’s veteran attacking line now aging — Morgan is the youngest, and she’ll turn 34 during the next World Cup — there’s an opening for a player like Purce, whose work rate and versatility make her an enticing option for a 23-player roster.Of players with more than 15 shots in the NWSL last season, no one had a higher shot-to-goal conversion rate than Purce at 20%. Her 45 attempts resulted in nine goals, and her six game-winning goals was the most in the league.
Ashley Hatch | FW | Washington Spirit | Age: 26 | Caps: 4
Hatch is a prolific scorer and would fit neatly into how the USWNT already plays, which makes her a huge asset in the upcoming World Cup cycle. Steve Christo – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Hatch certainly made sure USWNT fans noticed her in her national team debut, scoring in the first 24 seconds in November against Australia. But anyone who has watched Hatch in the NWSL wouldn’t be surprised: Hatch led the NWSL in scoring in 2021 without needing a single penalty to boost her stats. She’s been incredibly consistent, never suffering a scoring drought longer than three games. She scored as much with her right foot as her left, and can score in a variety of ways from different parts of the field, but she’s best running onto service face-up in the box and taking goalkeepers on directly.
It’s all the more reason Hatch is an enticing prospect for the USWNT: she plays like she would fit right in with how the USWNT already operates. Her heading and the ability to win duels isn’t as far along as the rest of her game, but even as players like Morgan and Press have improved their heading over the years, the USWNT hasn’t had a clinical, reliable header they’ve counted on since Abby Wambach retired.What Andonovski will no doubt be evaluating is just how she fits in when she is not with her Spirit teammates like Rodman and Sanchez, who have also been stellar, giving her plenty of opportunities to convert. Hatch has been in the NWSL since 2017 and never had as productive of a season as she did in 2021.
United States keeper Matt Turner says Arsenal move won’t hurt national team chances
4:35 PM ETJeff CarlisleU.S. soccer correspondent
New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner said he’s “not concerned” about what his pending move to Arsenal might mean for his spot on the United States national team.Turner is set to officially join the Gunners this summer, meaning he’ll play around 20 games with the Revs before his departure. Once he arrives in London, he’ll face a steep climb to unseat incumbent goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale.Speaking to reporters via Zoom on MLS Media Day, Turner mentioned that U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter was a “big supporter” of his move to Arsenal, and he remains confident that he’ll maintain his place in the U.S. side, where he is battling Manchester City keeper Zack Steffen for the starting spot. “At the end of the day, it’s going to be how I continue to progress,” he said. “[I’ll] play in almost 20 games in the early parts of the season, and then get the move overseas and get to work in understanding a new culture, a new way of life, a different league, quality players from top to bottom that will really help me.”Turner added that he stands to benefit from Arsenal’s style of play, which he feels is similar to what Berhalter is trying to implement with the national team.”It’ll be more exposure to that type of play, and I think it’s going to help me in the long run,” he said. “But yeah, I think I’m in a pretty good spot, and I really liked how everything’s progressing.”It won’t be the first time that Turner will be in the position of needing to prove himself and climb the goalkeeper depth chart. After playing collegiately at Fairfield University, Turner went undrafted by MLS, and signed as a free agent with the Revs following a successful trial.Following a pair of loan stints with second-tier side the Richmond Kickers, he took over the starting spot with the Revs in 2018 and has been a mainstay ever since, culminating in his being named MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021.”When I first started, it was trying to become a professional soccer player,” he said. “Most teams said no. I came in and I was a No. 3, I was a two. When I got my first chance with the national team it was only as the number three. No one ever really took me seriously, so I’m not going over there just to collect a check and ride off into the sunset. I’m going to push myself and [Ramsdale] and continue to help him get better and help myself get better.”Turner said he had “heard rumblings” of overseas interest over the past few months, but it seemed like a longshot. There was considerable back and forth once Arsenal put in an offer. The move crystallized on the same day the U.S. played El Salvador in a World Cup qualifier on Jan. 27.”Sometimes it was more dead than ever,” he said of the move. “Sometimes it was more alive than ever, but that’s the first time I’ve ever been through something like that. So to have it all come through and then come out and then put in a good performance and get three points for the national team, it was a very sort of euphoric day for me in my in my life and my career.”Turner insisted he won’t be taking it easy during the first half of the season with the Revs, especially with the U.S. still trying to clinch qualification to the World Cup.”It’s not really like a farewell tour,” he said. “It’s probably more of like a ‘See you in 10 years hopefully’ tour where I can come back and sort of remember the memories and the way this league is growing so fast.”
======================RackZ BAR BQ ==================================
Heading over to the Field House at Badger Field for Training? Try out the Best BarBQ in Town right across the street (131st) from Northview Church on the corner of Hazelldell & 131st. RackZ BBQ
Save 10% on your order (mention the ole ballcoach)
Check out the best dang Brunswich Stew I have had (almost as good as my mema’s) or the BarBQ Ribs, Pork, Brisket, Chicken & More. Sweet, Tangy or Spicy sauce. Mention you heard about it from the Ole Ballcoach — and Ryan will give you 10% off your next meal. https://www.rackzbbqindy.com/ Call ahead at 317-688-7290 M-Th 11-8 pm, 11-9 Fri/Sat, 12-8 pm on Sunday. Pick some up after practice – Its good eatin! You won’t be disappointed and tell ’em the Ole Ballcoach Sent You!
=====================RackZ BAR BBQ ==================================
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