“Our goalkeeper pool, we’re in good hands,” confidently remarked Brad Guzan, when questioned about his potential return to the US Men’s National Team. Of course, even though it’s surprising to see the 40-year-old receive fan requests to don the national jersey again, it becomes less so given the growing concerns among USA legends about the current goalkeeping options, including Matt Turner. Now, the latest to echo these concerns is none other than Tim Howard, who has joined the chorus of voices urging Mauricio Pochettino and Co. to reevaluate their choices.

As a former goalie himself, Howard has expressed his utmost faith and confidence in Guzan, backing him to be one of the players on whom he’ll always count when needed. This bold revelation was made by the 45-year-old in the second episode of Unfiltered Soccer podcast, which he co-hosts alongside Landon Donovan. While expressing his thoughts on the other overlooked goalkeepers who can fit in under Pochettino quite well, Howard said, “If we had one game to win, I’d play Brad Guzan.”

A clear indication of the fact that a former well-established goalie like Tim believes that Guzan, who is just five years younger than him, can become a regular starter for the USMNT. This echoes the time when in the debut episode of a similar podcast, Donovan expressed his discontent with the current pool of goalies stating, “Goalkeeping to me is a massive concern. We don’t have anyone playing at a high level consistently right now that I would say is absolutely just said, ‘This is my spot.'”

Then again, more than the whole goalkeeping pool, fingers are being raised on Matt Turner, who last week received some thrashing from another USMNT icon Charlie Davies. In one of the segments of CBS Sports Golazo, while rating all the USMNT players, the ex-forward gave a straight F to Turner for failing to get enough domestic playtime.

In his defense, ever since he left the New England Revolution in 2022 for Arsenal, his graph has been dropping. Having made just 7 appearances for the Gunners, the following year saw him move to Nottingham Forest for more playtime, eventually getting featured 21 times. Despite Nottingham Forest improving their standing significantly—from battling relegation to rising to the top four—Turner left for Crystal Palace this summer.

Ironically, his move appears to have placed him in a worse position, as the club now finds itself in a fight for survival, and Turner has yet to feature in a single game. This is surely the most disappointing thing for Davies, who vocally claimed, “You’re 30 years old as a goalkeeper, it’s a fail, it’s an F. You don’t have time to waste. You are a backup. It’s a horrible move.”

But circling back to Guzan, if Mauricio Pochettino does end up making him one of the replacements for Matt Turner, will he decide to take up the call?

Brad Guzan isn’t expecting a USMNT call from Mauricio Pochettino!

True. Despite the pressure from ardent fans and constant urges from USMNT icons to see the goalkeeping spot get changed, the Atlanta United man doesn’t consider himself the man in charge. “I’m not anticipating a phone call from Mauricio Pochettino by any means,” he admitted in an interview earlier.

Instead, Guzan expressed his confidence in the current pool of goalkeepers, claiming they are brimming with talent, even among those who may lack regular playing time unlike him. “They’ve proven to be capable of playing in those types of environments,” he said.

While this brings him out of the potential USMNT return picture, do you think Brad Guzan will pick up Mauricio Pochettino’s call for a return to don the red, blue, and white colors? Sound off in the comments.