MIAMI, Florida – For the second time in as many matches at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States GK Matt Turner registered a clean sheet in a U.S. victory over long-time rivals Mexico following Thursday’s 3-0 win in the semifinals of the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League Finals.
Now, Turner and his U.S. teammates will turn their attention to Sunday’s Final against a Canada side that topped Panama 2-0 in Thursday’s other semifinal.
For the U.S., it is the chance to lift the CNL trophy for a second time after doing so in the 2019-20 edition, and for Turner, a chance to win another Concacaf trophy in Las Vegas after doing so in the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup in which he won the Best Goalkeeper Award after beating Mexico 1-0 in that year’s Final.
Canada has proven to be a tough foe in recent years for the U.S., including a Canada win and a draw during Concacaf World Cup Qualifying for Qatar 2022, on top of a win for each side in the group stage of the 2019-20 CNL.
“Sunday is not going to be an easy task,” said Turner in an exclusive post-match interview with Concacaf.com.
“We are going up against a really good Canada team who we have really struggled against in the last few years. They’ve done a really great job of creating a good culture with experienced, top players in Europe and around the world, so it will be a tough challenge,” added Turner.
Despite the challenge posed by Canada, the U.S. has shown in recent years that they flourish in Concacaf finals. The summer of 2021 in which they captured the inaugural CNL and the Gold Cup showed as much. There is just something about Concacaf knockout tournaments that makes the U.S. raise their level.
“Concacaf games are competitive games. It’s bragging rights for the region and opportunities to lift trophies that are really important to our fans. For us, it’s nice to have the opportunity to play on home soil and to lift trophies and that’s what we want to do,” concluded Turner.
