Matt Turner knew what the moment meant, both for himself and for the big picture. Staring down Demarai Gray, Turner surely knew that the upcoming penalty kick would be a turning point on a personal and collective level. And, in that moment, Turner won. He pushed away the shot, preserved the lead and, ultimately, led his team to a crucial win.
The U.S. men’s national team needed that moment to escape Jamaica with that 1-0 win. Turner needed it even more.
Since the 2022 World Cup, Turner has found himself as a topic of discussion. With an uncertain club situation, he’d fallen into a similar trap as Zack Steffen before him, the one that, ironically, led to Turner’s rise in time for that World Cup. In pushing his way up the ladder to the Premier League, Turner had reached a level that he could not dominate or, in this case, start at. Playing time has been hard to come by and when that dries up, so does timing, form and confidence.
Turner, by and large, hasn’t let it impact him. His USMNT performances have remained strong throughout his difficulties at Arsenal, Nottingham Forest and, now, Crystal Palace. Even so, when you aren’t proving it on the club level, you have to prove it for your national team and, on Thursday, Turner made sure he did just that with a massive save to earn his team a win.