Arsenal's Matt Turner reinforced his importance to the USMNT with a pivotal save against Jamaica to deny Aston Villa's Leon Bailey from the spot.
The former New England Revolution goalkeeper has found game time hard to come by in North London after finding his route to a starting berth blocked by Aaron Ramsdale but he is a crucial performer for his national team. Ultimately, the USMNT would be held to a 1-1 stalemate by the Reggae Boyz but the 29-year-old stopper got down low to keep out the ex-Bayer Leverkusen forward's penalty in the 29th minute.
If Bailey would have found the back of the net, he would have doubled Jamaica's lead and sent his team on course to inflicting the USA's second ever group stage loss in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. However, the outstanding stop was able to help swing the balance of the game back in favour of the USMNT, with Brandon Vasquez eventually equalizing.
Incredibly, the penalty save meant that only two players have been able to beat Turner from the spot from the six penalties he has faced in his international career so far. With the save having come on his 29th birthday, the pivotal stop helped to galvanise his teammates into avoiding defeat.
The Stars and Stripes are looking to retain the trophy they won two years ago, with their roster for the tournament mostly made up of players who are based on home soil in MLS. A largely different squad including players who are based in Europe was able to triumph in the CONCACAF Nations League earlier this month, with a 2-0 win over Canada securing a second successive triumph.
Goalkeeper Turner is one of five players who have stayed to play in this second tournament of the summer for the US and he was rewarded for his application with the captain's armband for the clash with Jamaica. Undoubtedly, with the Arsenal back-up having conceded just twice in his last five starts, his importance to the team is clear.
Interim coach B.J. Callaghan will take charge of the USMNT through this latest tournament before handing the maangerial reigns back to Gregg Berhalter towards the backend of the summer. The 41-year-old was left in no doubt about Turner's qualities, saying after the game: “We gave him the captain's armband. I think that's a great starting point for us, to see how valuable he is to the group.
“His commitment to this team, the commitment to the craft – and then I always say big players make big play and Matt made a big play there where I think it also shifted the momentum a little bit with that. So those are what we expect.
"That was his moment to step up, and it's the same thing we preach to all of the guys, that when your number is called, you're going to be expected to step up.”
With matches to come in the Gold Cup group stage versus Saint Kitts and Nevis as well as Trinidad and Tobago, Callaghan will be hoping that Turner's ability and experience will continue to inspire his teammates in the coming weeks. With seven titles down the years in the biennial tournament, they will equal Mexico's all time record of eight triumphs if they reign victorious this year.
