Goalkeeper is a funny position. It’s lonely and, at times, thankless. Overlooked much of time - until suddenly needed - goalkeepers tend to live in their own little world under their own little spotlight.
It also happens to be the position that has become the signature of American soccer.
For decades, the U.S. has repeatedly produced elite-level shot-stoppers on both the men’s and women’s sides. Legends of the game have worn the gloves for both national teams. While the world has shifted and talent has ebbed and flowed during various USMNT and USWNT eras, the two squads have always been able to rely on having a defined, go-to, elite star in goal.
Not anymore.
Currently at very different points of their World Cup cycles - the men's team focused on 2026, the women's side on 2027 - both the USMNT and USWNT find themselves in unfamiliar territory when it comes to the defining position: uncertainty.
For the first time in decades, neither have clearly established starters in goal. What has always been a lonely position - a clear starter, a clear hierachy - has suddenly become a crowded one, with both teams lining up numerous candidates, waiting for reliable World Cup stars to emerge.
A competition is brewing for the USWNT and, with a two-year runway to the World Cup, it's one that will take time to complete. USWNT boss Emma Hayes will spend the next year or more assessing all of the options, looking under every rock to unearth the shot-stopper that could be the next great USWNT No. 1.
For the first time in the team's modern history, there's no seamless transition. The USWNT is experiencing goalkeeper growing pains.
There's a similar competition underway on the men's side but, just a year out from the World Cup, there's no luxury of time for Mauricio Pochettino and his staff. There are multiple goalkeepers vying to be the USMNT No. 1 and, heading into the 2025 Gold Cup, that spot seems about as uncertain as ever. This summer will be vital in determining next summer's starter in what - oh by the way - will be the most important tournament in USMNT history.
The two teams have been united by their ability to find and develop the best-of-the-best at the position. And now, for the first time, American soccer is at a crossroads when it comes to the next generation of goalkeepers.
