Mauricio Pochettino has declined to endorse Matt Turner as the U.S. men's national team starting goalkeeper, instead declaring the competition open.
Turner has been the USMNT's unquestioned starter in goal since the 2022 World Cup, but has struggled for club minutes over the past year.
After losing his job as Nottingham Forest starter midway through last season the 30-year-old has only made a handful of club appearances, including just four this season on loan at Crystal Palace.
Turner has continued to perform well with the USMNT, emphasizing in November that he had continued to earn his starting role under Pochettino.
"He's not in the business of giving handouts," Turner said of the USMNT head coach. "He's not handing me these last games in October just because, like, 'Aw, he might need it for his confidence."
After announcing his roster for the Concacaf Nations League Finals, Pochettino made it clear that Turner would have to continue earning the right to start.
The coach was asked on a call with reporters if Turner was his starter or if the competition was open and replied in Spanish: "I believe the competition is always open.
"It's good to see as many goalkeepers as possible and it depends not only on their form but what they can convey on and off the pitch. We had a good opportunity in January to see how the others are doing.
"The other two are in good form and it's a very good competition against Matt, who up until now has been the starter when he's available. But the competition is open."
Pochettino called up four MLS-based goalkeepers in January, with two of those returning this month to challenge Turner: Patrick Schulte of the Columbus Crew and Zack Steffen of the Colorado Rapids.
Schulte actually earned a start over Turner in a 2-1 loss to Canada in September, which came under interim head coach Mikey Varas.
The Crew goalkeeper also started a 3-1 win over Venezuela in January with Steffen starting the following match, a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica.
The USMNT will face Panama on March 20 in the Nations League semifinal at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The winner will face the winner of Mexico-Canada in the final at the same venue on March 23, while the two semifinal losers will play in the third-place match.