With clear needs, USMNT can embrace the hope that comes with its top prospects

By Collins Godfrey

Oct. 8, 2026

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Diego Kochen, as of today, is not the savior. He is not the surefire answer as the future of the U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper position.

But he, like some of the other dozen kids making their U.S. senior debuts over the last couple weeks, represents something important for the U.S. fanbase: hope.

Kochen was imperfect in his first senior national team start, which ended with a clean sheet and the first 90-minute showing from a U.S. goalkeeper this window. There were five shaky decisions and passes in the first 16 minutes against Mexico as he tried to settle his nerves. But in the cauldron that is any rivalry game against El Tri, the young goalkeeper settled and did enough to earn more chances.

The 20-year-old goalkeeper was born in Miami and moved to Spain at age 12, when his mother’s job transferred the family overseas. He joined Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy in 2019 at age 13 and rose through the ranks, earning time with Barcelona B and appearing on the bench with the first team. His ascension there, at one point being named one of the best talents for his age group in the world, put him on the radar of American fans from an early age. This summer, he was invited to train with the U.S. World Cup team, though he had to leave camp early due to injury.

This season, he was loaned out to Danish club Lyngby, which has an option to buy him at the end of the season. It is a vital opportunity for Kochen to get first-team minutes for the first time in his career. At a position where there has been no clear heir to Brad Friedel, Tony Meola, Kasey Keller, Tim Howard or Brad Guzan for years, it’s certainly worth considering how much investment to put into a young prospect to maximize his chance to grow into a top player.

But investment, as U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino said on Saturday night, sometimes means protecting them.

Diego Kochen leaps to catch the ball vs. Mexico

Diego Kochen is sure-handed while leaping to snag the ball in the USMNT’s 3-0 win over rival MexicoKevin Abele / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images

We are in the throes of a time-honored tradition for American soccer fans. One World Cup cycle ends, and left behind are the regrets and carnage from that tournament. Eyes are cast forward to the future. Who is next? What yet-untested prospects will make this team so much better that reaching the quarterfinals in four years feels that we’re on the right track.

I wrote in a “way too early 2014 World Cup roster projection” blog post after the 2010 World Cup that center back Gale Agbossoumonde was the heir at his position in the national team pool. Agbossoumonde was 18 with no first-team games at the first-division level, but he had just moved on loan to Portugal. The future was bright.

He would end up playing no games at Braga, nor at Estoril. Instead, it was the start of a career in which he moved on loan to three teams in Europe before coming back to North America in the NASL, MLS and then USL.

That blog post is lost somewhere on the internet, but the schooling from it lives forever.

Agbossoumonde’s story is a reminder of the perils of professional sport. Projecting talent is enormously difficult. Success at the highest level sometimes needs luck. So, one can hope about what might come in the future, but it should always be balanced with the perspective of both the history of American soccer players and the probabilities of the outcomes.

Christian Pulisic is a very good player in Serie A. That is still a tremendously high bar for any American player to reach. Not many have gotten there. American goalkeepers before Kochen reached the peak of their professions — but the rocky road in Europe for the likes of Matt Turner and Gaga Slonina shows just how hard it was for their predecessors.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to get excited.

Gio Reyna's resurgence under Mauricio Pochettino has led to a place of calm consistency with the USMNT

Kochen is not Agbossoumonde. The goalkeeper grew up in one of the world’s most famous academies, surrounded by current and future stars like Robert Lewandowski, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Lamine Yamal. This crop of young players is arriving in a completely different era of professional soccer in America. When I wrote that 2010 post, the U.S. Soccer Development Academy was just three years old. The first handful of MLS homegrown players were only just being signed.

Many of the players in this camp are playing professionally in MLS. Some signed overseas already. Zavier Gozo was sold to Crystal Palace of the English Premier League for $15 million. Manchester City agreed to a pre-transfer for Cavan Sullivan before his 15th birthday.

It’s different.

But as the U.S. prepares for its final friendly of this window against Canada on Tuesday, we can be excited about the potential of this group without making any declarations.

Yes, Kochen is talented, and yes, the position is undoubtedly a weak spot in the pool. But he is also still just 20 years old and playing first-team soccer for the first time. Finding the right moments to bring him along, picking the games and tournaments and challenges that foster his development — including encouraging competition at the position with veterans like Matt Freese and Turner — will be vital.

The same goes for Sullivan, Mathis Albert, Julian Hall, Adri Mehmeti, Neil Pierre and Gozo.

The timelines will be different for each player. Some will be ready for more earlier than others. But all deserve patience. (And yes, this is coming from the guy who said Gozo should have been on the World Cup roster.)

It’s clear that Pochettino is trying to balance the talent with the hype. To calm the instinct to rush things.

Coming off the disappointment of the 4-1 knockout loss to Belgium at this summer’s World Cup, Pochettino clearly knew it was important to start identifying potential solutions at positions of need for the next cycle. This camp has undoubtedly done that.

But potential solutions are just that. Potential. And it’s why, almost every time he’s asked about a specific young player, Pochettino pivots away from directly answering.

USMNT goalkeeper Diego Kochen warms up

Diego Kochen, 20, has made his first two appearances with the USMNT this windowRich Storry / Getty Images

“Like Mathis (Albert), like Justin (Ellis), like Julian (Hall), like Frankie (Westfield), like Neil (Pierre), like Brooklyn (Raines), like Adri (Mehmeti), like Peyton (Miller), like Cole (Campbell) … did I miss some more young (players)? Gozo, Zavier Gozo, another (one),” Pochettino said, when asked about Sullivan on Saturday night. “I think it’s amazing to have these talented players that appear now and how important it is for us. It’s a big moment because we need to be right with them. We need to protect them. We need to support them. Our responsibility now is that this group of talented players grows in the right direction.”

The U.S. manager acknowledged with a smile in that same postgame press conference that this young group was presenting him with a dilemma. Some of the players have earned more chances with the senior team, even at a time when the under-23 team is preparing to try to capture a medal at the 2028 Olympic games.

“I think it’s a fantastic problem for us,” Pochettino said.

But it’s one the U.S. and Pochettino are in no rush to solve.

It’s why Kochen may not start in goal on Tuesday against Canada and why some of the other younger standouts may be rotated, as well. Believing that players like Kochen and Sullivan might one day be the answers means finding the right way to bring them along so that you eventually land on that day.

It is the difference between projecting four years out from now and planning for it.