Two young keepers seize their chance
WASHINGTON, DC — Brian Schwake and Diego Kochen both used the October window to make themselves harder to ignore for the U.S. men’s national team. In limited minutes, each showed enough poise to suggest Mauricio Pochettino may have more to think about in goal than he did a month ago.
Matt Freese still appears to have the edge as the current No. 1, but the fall friendlies gave Pochettino a close look at two younger options who handled pressure well. The sample size was small, yet both goalkeepers came through important tests against strong regional opposition.
Kochen looks composed against Peru and Mexico
Kochen was first in line. The 20-year-old, on loan at Danish side Lyngby from Barcelona, entered for 45 minutes against Peru and then started against Mexico. Even in a rivalry match that carried more bite than a normal friendly, he kept his composure and did not concede during his time on the field.
One of his clearest strengths was his work with the ball at his feet. That matters in a U.S. setup that asks keepers to help build play from the back. Kochen is still chasing his first senior appearance for Barcelona, but his loan spell has given him regular matches and plenty of action to sharpen his game.
Schwake answers with a steady debut
Schwake’s night started with a setback when he allowed a goal four minutes after coming on at halftime against Chile. After that, though, he settled in and allowed nothing else, then played the full 90 minutes against Canada in what was the toughest assignment of the window.
The Nashville SC keeper was not flawless with distribution against Canada’s press, but he looked secure when shot-stopping was required. At club level, he has built his reputation on consistency behind one of MLS’s strongest defensive units, and that form carried over into his national team opportunity.
Why both performances matter to Pochettino
Pochettino used the friendlies to widen the pool while leaning on younger players and resting several experienced names, including Matt Turner. Freese also saw action, while Chris Brady had a shorter run to make his case. On this evidence, Schwake and Kochen may have nudged themselves ahead of some of the other challengers.
The competition is still open, and no one is likely to leap straight to the front of the line after just 135 minutes each. Even so, the depth chart looks healthier now than it did at the start of the window, and that gives Pochettino more flexibility heading toward the next competitive fixtures.
Freese remains the standard for now
Freese has put together a long run as the team’s leading choice, collecting 20 caps since June 2025. He entered the year with outside questions around the position, especially with Turner still in the conversation, but he has remained the most established option in the group.
That said, the path to the World Cup is long, and goalkeeper form can change quickly. Schwake and Kochen did not settle the debate, but they added credible new names to it, which is exactly what Pochettino wanted from these tune-up matches.
What comes next for the USMNT goalkeeping picture
The next meaningful tests will arrive when competitive play returns in November. By then, Pochettino will have to decide whether the fall friendlies were a brief look at promising prospects or the start of a real reshuffle behind Freese.
For now, the main takeaway is simple: the U.S. has more than one young goalkeeper pushing for attention. Kochen’s calm distribution and Schwake’s steadiness under pressure gave the national team staff useful evidence, and the race for the No. 1 shirt has become a little more interesting.
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