Matt Turner and Henry Kessler named to preliminary Gold Cup roster

Two New England Revolution players were named to the United States preliminary roster for the Gold Cup. While one player seems to be a surefire starter, another was a pleasant surprise for Revs fans.

Both Matt Turner and Henry Kessler were named to the preliminary roster for the USMNT. The duo are definitely deserving of the honor.

Turner has been a brick wall for the Revs, not just this season but also in 2020. So far in 2021, he has a 5-1-2 record with a goals against average of 0.88. The goalkeeper also has 3 shutouts so far this season.

This has been a great year for Turner when it comes to the USMNT. He was called into January camp and got the first start of his international career against Trinidad & Tobago. Making a penalty save in the game, you could say it was a dream international debut for Turner.

In the Gold Cup, Turner will likely be the No.1 starter for the stars and stripes. He’s the best goalkeeper in MLS and this will be his chance to prove that he deserves a real look at being the overall top goalkeeper for the USMNT.

Kessler on the other hand is more of a surprise. While he played for the U-23 team in Olympic Qualifiers, it was unknown when he would be able to make a breakthrough on the senior team roster.

Now of course this is the Gold Cup, so there will be plenty of MLS players with the likes of John Brooks, Mark McKenzie not on the roster, but there will still be some competition.

Reggie Cannon will likely have the right back position locked down as he is one of the few players from the Nations League roster who will be playing in the Gold Cup.

Specifically at center back, Kessler will be up against players such as Cameron Carter-Vickers and Erik Palmer-Brown who have European experience. Also, it’s rather likely that Walker Zimmerman has earned his spot on the roster.

Things have opened up at center back due to Aaron Long’s injury. With the NYRB defender out for a while, Kessler could sneak his way onto the roster.

If that did happen New England would be without two key players from their 2020 playoff run. With Jon Bell receiving more playing time in recent weeks he would likely slot in next to Andrew Farrell.

But the month of July is extremely busy for the Revs and all of MLS. This would likely mean that A.J. DeLaGarza and even a player such as Collin Verfurth would get some extended playing time if New England was without Kessler.

So New England Revolution fans will definitely be tuned into the Gold Cup to see how Matt Turner (and maybe even Henry Kessler) perform on the international level.