FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Revolution Goalkeeper Matt Turner was back training with the team in Foxborough on Thursday after he was called up to play with the United States Men’s National Team during the international break.
Turner started the first of two friendly matchups the Americans played in earlier this week. The United States had an early lead against Belgium Saturday night in Atlanta, but Belgium went on to dominate the rest of the match, defeating the USA 5-2.
On Thursday, Turner spoke exclusively with Boston 25 News Reporter Michael Raimondi after the match.
“It was nice to get the nod, we did some alright things, but anytime you get five goals scored on you, you never really want to take any silver linings away. So, it was a pretty frustrating performance from us,” Turner said. “We got punished by a very good side.”
Turner is fighting to be the USMNT starting goalie for the second consecutive World Cup. He started all four games the United States played in the 2022 tournament in Qatar. When asked if there was something he wants to see improved in the future, Turner wouldn’t go into specifics.
“When you step into these games against really good opponents, every little detail matters and I think that in the end for all the good we did do in the game, Belgium were more opportunistic than we were,” Turner said. “I’m not going to dissect myself too much. I’m pretty self-aware. For me the biggest thing is focus on competing here. Trying to win some games get that feeling of what winning games is here and built the confidence up through good performances here and it’s nice we have a three-game homestand here where we are hoping to pickup as many points as possible.”
Turner said his focus now is back on Major League Soccer and doing the best he can for the New England Revolution.
“It’s about continuing to do similar things that I have been doing because obviously some of the things the coaching staff saw while I was here were positive and it earned me an opportunity to play again.”
USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino will decide the final roster in May before two more friendlies on May 31 against Senegal and June 6th against Germany. Those will be the final two matches before the World Cup when the results really matter.
“We have to look in the mirror and evaluate things and just be better. Work harder, stick together and we still got a lot to prove and to learn before the World Cup begins in June,” Turner said.
Raimondi asked Turner if he and Pochettino had any conversations about his role. “Not in particular, no,” Turner replied.
The Revolution are back home at Gillette Stadium Saturday against Montreal. Kick is set for 4:30 p.m.
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