Matt Turner has revealed that the USMNT were not his first choice at international level, with Lithuania snubbing his initial advances in 2018.
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Keeper explored chance to play for LithuaniaHad hoped to line up against EnglandNow No.1 for country of his birthWHAT HAPPENED?
The 29-year-old goalkeeper had established himself at the New England Revolution by that point, but had not forced his way into the U.S. camp. As a result, he reached out to the nation that he qualified for through his great grandmother.
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Turner got no response from Lithuania and made his debut for the United States a year later, before going on to earn a transfer to Arsenal, grace the 2022 World Cup and end up as first-choice at Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. That career path could have played out very differently.
WHAT THEY SAID
Turner has told : “My great grandmother emigrated from Lithuania during the war, fled religious persecution. She came to Ellis Island, New York and lived the dream that way. We had to move my grandfather out of his house and I found these old immigration papers from her, so my dad and I were able to reinstate our [Lithuanian] citizenship. I actually contacted the Lithuanian FA. I was like, ‘I want international games.’ They were going through a Euro qualifying cycle. This was after my first year really playing for the Revs, so this was 2018.
“I’m like, I have my passport, I’m reinstating my citizenship. I would love to get in touch with my roots, which is true. I would love go to Lithuania, but obviously Covid threw a huge wrinkle into everything. But I would love to get in touch with my roots and be there and feel the culture but also, I’m a soccer player and I want to represent the national team. They were about to do Euro qualifiers and I think they were going to play England and Portugal in the window. I’m like, this is my opportunity. If I could get in there, then I’m going to play against England and Portugal and all I need is a crack in the door and I’ll ball and then I’ll get my move. But they never texted me back or emailed me back.”
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Turner is now the regular No.1 for the country of his birth, with the New Jersey native up to 33 caps. He has faced the odd question at club level since leaving Arsenal for Forest, but he has Steve Cooper’s trust for now and will be heading off with the USMNT squad during the latest international break.