USMNT: Ethan Horvath’s resurgence plot twist to American depth

Ethan Horvath has seen a resurgent start to the 2018-19 European season with Club Brugge in Belgium. Where does he stand in the USMNT pool?

Things were not going in the direction many had hoped for 23-year-old goalkeeper Ethan Horvath. The American was faced with limited playing time that lasted almost half a year; his career was spiraling out of control.

But more recently, things have changed, and Horvath has been taking full advantage of his recent involvement with Club Brugge’s first team.

What has resulted was a recent call-up to the United States Men’s National Team and a start against Italy.

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On Tuesday, Horvath started in his third consecutive Champions League fixture for Brugge as they brought the group stage of the competition to a close in an extremely difficult group. With a Europa League place on the line for third place, Horvath delivered against Atletico Madrid and recorded a third clean sheet in the Champions League.

In the Belgian Jupiler Pro League, Horvath has played in six matches and has two clean sheets to his name. After his shutout against KV Oostende on October 30th, Horvath has been the starting option for Brugge between the sticks. He has risen from being on the bench to the top choice.

Notably, two of Horvath’s clean sheets have come against Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid. That, of course, has made Horvath’s display in goal so eye-catching. When you can hold the Bundesliga leaders and a top three La Liga club to zeros, you’re in top form.

This will only aid in his domestic season as Brugge will continue to make a push to the top of the table. They are third in the table and Horvath will need to come up big for them down the stretch. Brugge’s participation in the Europa League will also give Horvath an added platform to continue his fine form against some of the best teams in Europe. Their opponent for the knockout round will soon be named and it will be all to play for in those matches.

The American goalkeeper’s performance in the Champions League has all of a sudden put him in the discussion to be one of the top three goalkeepers in the U.S. system. News of Zack Steffen’s move to Manchester City this summer has solidified his place as the top choice in net but Horvath is beginning to make a case to be the number two option.

At 23, Horvath is the same age as Steffen. The two goalkeepers now stand as two of the more promising goalkeepers to come along in the last five years. Moreover, unless he is loaned out, it is doubtful that Steffen will be playing regularly over the next year or two. There is an opportunity for Horvath to make his case in the USMNT set-up.

Horvath’s ability to come back from a rough stretch in his career has made this resurgence all the more impressive. If he can carry this momentum all the way through 2019, he will certainly continue to get national team call-ups and starts. We have not seen the last of him.