Zack Steffen to miss US World Cup prep matches, Johnson added
U.S. goalkeeper Sean Johnson warms up before the team's FIFA World Cup qualifying soccer match against Honduras, Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King) Credit: AP/Andy Clayton-King
CHICAGO — Manchester City's Zack Steffen will miss the United States' four World Cup prep matches next month for what the team said was family reasons, and he was replaced on the roster Friday by NYCFC's Sean Johnson.
The 27-year-old Steffen was considered the top American goalkeeper going into qualifying last September but was sidelined at times by a back injury and started six of 14 qualifiers. New England's Matt Turner, who joins Arsenal in July, started eight.
Steffen has 29 international appearances.
He played in just nine matches this season for Manchester City, where he is Ederson’s backup. He appeared in just one Premier League game along with four in the FA Cup, two League Cup, one Champions League and the Community Shield.
Johnson, 32, joins Turner and Nottingham Forest's Ethan Horvath on the roster. Johnson debuted for the U.S. in 2011 and has nine international appearances.
Forest faces Huddersfield on Sunday in the the League Championship promotion playoff final for a place in next season's Premier League.
The U.S. plays exhibitions against Morocco on Wednesday in Cincinnati and against Uruguay on June 5 at Kansas City, Kansas, then has CONCACAF Nations League matches against Grenada on June 10 in Austin, Texas, and at El Salvador four days later.
The Americans have just two more World Cup prep matches after, a pair of friendlies in Europe in September. They open the World Cup in Qatar on Nov. 21 against Wales, Scotland or Ukraine. They play England four days later and close group play against Iran on Nov. 29.
The revised roster:
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest, England), Seam Johnson (NYCFC), Matt Turner (New England)
Defenders: George Bello (Arminia Bielefeld, Germany), Reggie Cannon (Boavista Portugal), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Glasgow Celtic, Scotland), Aaron Long (New York Red Bulls), Erik Palmer-Brown (Troyes, France), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), DeAndre Yedlin (Miami), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville)
Midfielders: Kellyn Acosta (Los Angeles), Tyler Adams (Leipzig, Germany), Luca de la Torre (Heracles, Netherlands), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Djordje Mihailovic (Montreal), Yunus Musah (Valencia, Spain), Cristian Roldan (Seattle), Malik Tillman (Bayern Munich, Germany)
Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Salzburg, Austria), Paul Arriola (Dallas), Jesús Ferreira (Dallas;), Jordan Morris (Seattle), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea England), Tim Weah (Lille, France), Haji Wright (Antalyaspor, Turkey)
