Matt Turner happy for Tajon Buchanan’s Canada call-up

Both the United States and Canada will be playing in international competitions this week. While Matt Turner won’t be playing for the stars and stripes, Tajon Buchanan will be playing for our neighbors up north.

The United States Men’s National Team faces off against Honduras in the Semi-Finals of the CONCACAF Nations League. A win would have them face either Mexico or Costa Rica in the Final.

After getting his first start for the USMNT earlier in the year, Revolution fans were wondering if Turner would be called into the squad for these important games. Sadly that wouldn’t be the case. While Zack Steffen and Ethan Horvath were familiar names, the inclusion of David Ochoa was interesting to see.

Turner was asked by Tom Quinlan after New England’s 1-0 victory over FC Cincinnati if he felt snubbed by the MNT and the goalkeeper thought that might be a bit harsh.

Turner said, “Snub is a tough word. I think there’s other things going on. It’s not just black and white, who’s getting called in, who isn’t getting called in. Of course, anytime I could potentially get called into the national team, I’d love to wear the crest and represent my country. But yeah, of course I have something to prove. I’m not the outright number one for Team USA. There’s just still so much for me to prove, still continue to be consistent, still continue to contribute to the team here the way I did today, and just continue to build and grow. If they feel like the want to call me in, great. If they don’t think I’m good enough, that’s another conversation to be had. I’ll have to look in the mirror and figure out how I can get better to be on that stage and consistently get called in and play games.”

When the roster was first announced, Jeff Lemieux mentioned that the club expects to be without Turner during the Gold Cup. That appears to be when Turner will get his second chance.

Buchanan on the other hand will soon have the opportunity to get his first international cap with Canada as they compete in World Cup qualifiers. On Saturday, Buchanan will have the chance to get his first minutes against Aruba.

Buchanan made a name for himself in Olympic qualifiers securing a brace in Canada’s first match. He was also named the Canadian Youth International Player of the Year in 2020.

Turner also talked about how he felt about Buchanan getting called up.

The goalkeeper said, “Yeah, I’m super happy for him. The kid works really, really hard. We sit next to each other in the locker room, so we’re always giving each other a hard time about USA-Canada stuff. He deserves it. He’s been proving that every time he steps onto the field, especially these last few games. He’s been playing great. I’m excited for him to be able to showcase his stuff on the international stage and I couldn’t be more pleased for him.”

While New England Revolution fans will be wishing that they could see Turner get his second start, they will have another opportunity to watch one of their favorite players get their first international cap.