USMNT No. 1 goalkeeper Matt Turner gets second start of season at Crystal Palace in FA Cup victory over Stockport

U.S. international Matt Turner started and played 90 minutes as Crystal Palace defeated Stockport County 1-0 in the FA Cup on Saturday, advancing to the fourth round of the competition.

Fellow USMNT regular Chris Richards also earned a start, helping keep a clean sheet playing as the right central defender in a back-three formation.

Turner now has two victories in two different cup competitions as his lone appearances for Palace this season. In the EFL Cup back in October, he went 90 minutes in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa in his first showing for the club. Richards, meanwhile, has now started and played 90 minutes in four of their last five matches across all competitions dating back to Dec. 21.

Despite struggling for playing time over the past 12 months, Turner has remained No. 1 for the USMNT under both Gregg Berhalter and Mauricio Pochettino's tenures. During the second half of the 2023-24 campaign, he was demoted all the way to third-string goalkeeper at Nottingham Forest, before joining Palace on-loan for the 2024-25 campaign.

In advance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he still remains atop the goalkeeping pool for the USMNT, but with few minutes at the club level, contenders are closing in on his spot, including Columbus Crew shotstopper Patrick Schulte and Cardiff City goalkeeper Ethan Horvath.

Turner made four saves Sunday, helping keep a clean sheet in a rare start. He had 28 touches on the ball and prevented an xG of 1.02 from Stockport, making one crucial save along the way.

“He's training well, and working very hard in training," Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner said of Turner. “He took a lot of stuff in the locker room afterwards – he's still the only one who's unbeaten this season! He played at Villa, we won there in the [Carabao] Cup, and he played today, and we won. He's had a clean sheet and not really much to do. Only in one situation we needed him after our mistake, so he was there, so a compliment and credit to Matt.”

Palace have appeared in the FA Cup in every complete season since the competition's founding in 1905, but they are yet to win it. They've come close twice, falling to Manchester United in both 1989-90 and 2015-16 in the final of the competition.

Palace return to the pitch on Wednesday when they take on Leicester City in Premier League action, before a clash with West Ham at the weekend.