Matt Turner becomes fifth USMNT goalkeeper to start in multiple World Cups

Matt Turner is heading to his second World Cup as the starting goalkeeper for the United States Men’s National Team. That puts him in a club with only four other American keepers who can say the same thing.

Turner was named to the 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on May 26, confirming what most observers expected: the man between the posts in Qatar four years ago would be back for the tournament co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico.

From Qatar to home soil

Turner’s 2022 World Cup campaign was quietly excellent. He started all four matches for the USMNT in Qatar, recording consecutive clean sheets against England (0-0) and Iran (1-0). Those back-to-back shutouts made him the first US goalkeeper to post multiple World Cup clean sheets since 1930.

Now he carries 54 international caps and a CONCACAF Gold Cup Best Goalkeeper award from 2021 into a tournament where the US will play in front of home crowds.

The goalkeeper lineage

Being the fifth USMNT goalkeeper to start across multiple World Cups places Turner in genuinely rare company. The US has participated in 11 World Cups total, stretching back to that 1930 tournament.

Turner’s path to this point hasn’t been the typical straight line from academy prospect to national team starter. He built his reputation in Major League Soccer before moving to European football, then returned to MLS with the New England Revolution on loan from Olympique Lyon.

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