ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Chris Brady has his first U.S. Men's National Team start under his belt.
Two months after returning from his maiden World Cup voyage as the United States' third-string goalkeeper, the Chicago Fire's #1 got the nod for the first time at the senior level, playing the first 45 minutes of a 4-2 friendly win over Chile.
The 22-year-old Brady made five saves, including two high-difficulty diving stops. Chile's only goal of the half came after a calamitous sequence in front of goal, ending the Naperville native's hopes of a shutout and taking away from what was an otherwise solid half in goal.
“For us, 45 minutes with each goalkeeper was a very good thing to see how they perform and how they behave,” Pochettino told MIR97 Media postgame. “The keeper, like Chris, like Diego (Kochen), like Brian (Schwake), they need to feel that they can cope with the pressure of playing. It's much better in that way to play 45 minutes and start to now make a debut.”
Although Brady entered the cycle as one of the favorites to emerge as the long-term U.S. #1, this camp has given Pochettino an opportunity to evaluate a plethora of young stars for the future. Brady was the second-youngest player on the USMNT's World Cup roster this summer, but age-wise is right in the middle of the pack in a camp consisting of 12 players born in 2005 or later.
Chile tested Brady early with a few simple saves. His biggest moment came facing a counter attack in the 31st minute, as FC Thun's Nils Reichmuth found himself in behind the U.S. backline. Although Brady initially hesitated on the play, he recovered well to make a nice save one-on-one from close range. Brady was also forced into multiple stops directly from corner kicks as Chile attempted multiple times to score an Olimpico.
Brady was not the only player from the Chicago area to have a landmark involvement tonight. Brooklyn Raines, who spent most of his childhood in the Chicago suburbs and played for Inter FC Chicago in his youth, made his first national team start after coming off the bench for his debut last Saturday. 25-year-old Nashville SC goalkeeper Brian Schwake – born in Mount Prospect and an alumnus of DePaul – made his first U.S. appearance at any level, replacing Brady at halftime as part of Pochettino's pre-planned four-goalkeeper rotation across the first two matches of the fall.
Both Brady and Schwake received mixed reactions for their appearances, as it could be argued that the goals they conceded were preventable. However, the position remains wide open, as nobody in the U.S. goalkeeper pool – which also contains New England's Matt Turner, New York City's Matt Freese, and Lyngby's Diego Kochen – has grasped the #1 job with both hands.
“It’s so important that the people really trust in the process, trust in our decision, but trust in the player and respect the player,” Pochettino said. “If the player sometimes performs well, it’s easy to speak well. But sometimes when they don’t perform, one thing is an opinion, to say, ‘Okay, he didn’t perform well.’ Another is to disrespect. That is so important. And yes, I think we are going to make the best decision for the next few games. Hope that we can evolve, winning games, and getting the experience to keep building with that group.”
Who will start in the final two games of the window against CONCACAF rivals Mexico (October 3rd in Glendale, Ariz.) and Canada (October 6th in St. Paul, Minn.) remains up in the air, but that will give a solid indication of Pochettino and his coaching staff's impressions of the four goalkeepers in this camp so far.
“Of course,” Pochettino concluded, “now I need to think about what I’m going to do against Mexico and Canada, and see if we are going to repeat the same formula or not.”
