Who is the U.S. Men’s National Team’s goalkeeper of the future?

One position where fans of the U.S. Men’s National Team have never really needed to worry was in goal. Even before the U.S. Soccer renaissance, goalkeeper has always been a position of strength. And even when older hands had to hang up their gloves, there was always a ready-made replacement. But with Brad Guzan’s form slipping and Tim Howard getting older, there doesn’t seem to be a clear next man up.

Funny enough, I wrote about this dilemma back in October and seven months later, with a manager change and a near-World Cup qualifying disaster now in the rear-view mirror, the situation isn’t all that much different. While Bruce Arena will likely be able to milk enough out of both Howard and Guzan to get to Russia one year from now, there has to be someone behind those two to not only be ready for the future, but for the present as well. So who are those names?

Bill Hamid (DC United): 
When anyone has talked about the goalkeeper of the future, Bill Hamid is usually the first name mentioned. He’s been on the cusp of taking over the gloves for what seems like years, but he’s never been able to break through the Howard-Guzan dominance. He’ll be turning 27 in November and surprisingly only has two caps thus far in his career. He could be a decent third option behind those two for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, but if he is the guy for the future, that tenure might start at this summer’s Gold Cup.

https://youtu.be/yatZxke8Q5w

Hamid is athletic, can make ridiculous saves and certainly has the potential, but he needs to be given the chance to realize that potential on the national team stage. Time isn’t quite running out for him, but he needs to get his chance sooner rather than later.

Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge): 
Jurgen Klinsmann once called Horvath one of his “biggest hopes for the future” in goal, and while the man can’t coach, he has an eye for talent. Horvath’s career at Molde was pretty sensational, which earned him a move to Belgium. He recently made his first start for the second place club, and while he did pick up an assist in the 3-1 win over Charleroi, it wasn’t all fun.

In terms of raw talent and potential, Horvath has all that in spades. He’s also only 21, which means in goalkeeper years has barely started teething. Being the only keeper making waves in Europe (as Brad Guzan got relegated for a second straight year and will go to Atlanta United in MLS this summer) is a notch in his favor, but like Hamid, he will probably have to wait for his chance. Klinsmann certainly loved him, but whether Bruce Arena does to the same level remains to be seen. But considering his youth and potential, Horvath seems to be a favorite to be “the guy” despite the competition, but his time might not be a few years thanks to his age and the names ahead of him.

Zack Steffen (Columbus Crew): 
As I noted the first time I wrote a piece like this, I’m biased because he, like me, is a Terp. But even if he went to Penn State, it’s hard not to see the potential in his game. Someone once said while he was in the Philadelphia Union’s academy that he had the potential to be “the next Tim Howard,” and as you as you watch him play, it’s immediately obvious why. He commands his back line, he distributes the ball from the back well and, of course, can make incredible saves as he did at the U-20 World Cup two years ago.

He is now the man for Columbus Crew SC and while the way they play and their defense isn’t particularly suitable for Steffen to pick up clean sheets, the talent is no doubt present for Steffen to emerge as another major contender in the future. But the biggest question for him, as it is for Horvath and others on this list, is if/when they get their national team chance. He hasn’t been called up in over a year and while time is his friend, he has to hope that other names don’t pass him in the meantime.

David Bingham (San Jose Earthquakes): 
For a while, it looked as if Bingham was the best American keeper in MLS. He was making outstanding saves that jumped out at you and was doing it for a club that needed those saves badly. But his 2017 has been… less than stellar. He’s certainly on Bruce Arena’s radar as evidenced by his call-up for the critical March qualifiers, though that might be more a service of being in San Jose in addition to injuries to others than anything else. He is also 27, which again isn’t young, but is in goalkeeper years. He needs to play better to have a chance of challenging for the full time role, but he’s no doubt in the conversation.

Those are four of the names that are at the edge of everyone’s tongues, but as the MLS season has gone on, new names have emerged. Alex Bono of Toronto FC looked really good while Clint Irwin was out injured, but he currently doesn’t have the consistent playing time. Cody Cropper, who once started for the U.S. at a U-20 World Cup, hopped around Europe and is now the man for the Revolution as someone else who has emerged as a talent recently. Yet he still has to rebuild his career, so to speak, to break through. And then there are some of the older hands such as Seattle’s Stefan Frei, Orlando’s Joe Bendik, Luis Robles of the Red Bulls and, of course, the ageless Nick Rimando. But all of those names are nothing more than stopgaps and not long-term solutions.

And, if you really wanted to, you could go even deeper down the rabbit hole to the goalkeepers who are even younger, such as San Jose homegrown player J.T Marcinowski, who goes to school at Georgetown, and if you really want to torture yourself with the thought, Jurgen’s son Jonathan Klinsmann, who proved at the U-20 qualifying tournament that he’s sometimes better with his feet than his hands, a la Claudio Bravo.

There are plenty of names who could eventually take up the mantle as the US’ goalie of the future, and the eventual heir apparent to the Meola’s, Friedel’s, Keller’s and Howard’s of the world might be someone else entirely. But critically, it doesn’t seem as if the needle is going to move off of Howard or Guzan at least in the short term. So while you watch Howard’s emotions get the best of him, or watch Brad Guzan give up three goals between his legs in one game, know that there are plenty of names to watch for the future, and all have great potential. But whether any can be as good as Howard was in his prime, or even Guzan has shown flashes of being, remains to be seen.

[Stars & Stripes FC/Nats Abroad]