American internationals Ethan Horvath and Zack Steffen went toe-to-toe on Monday night with Horvath's Luton Town welcoming Steffen's Middlesbrough to Kenilworth Road in the EFL Championship, and let's just say that Matt Turner's standing as USMNT No.1 feels safe.
The stakes weren't especially high with Burnley and Sheffield United headed for automatic promotion to the Premier League while Luton and Middlesbrough have clinched their spots in the four-team playoffs, but the encounter was a possible preview of "the richest game in football" (the playoff final at Wembley).
Horvath and Steffen chatting it up in the tunnel. pic.twitter.com/Yg1b5d1ACq
— Travis (@usmnt_historian) April 24, 2023
Horvath (on loan from Nottingham Forest) has earned more praise than Steffen (on loan from Manchester City) for his work in the Championship — performances that earned him a spot on the World Cup roster while Steffen was surprisingly omitted — but Luton conceded in the 40th-minute after Horvath's sweeper keeper attempt was punished by Cameron Archer.
Horvath's league-leading 20th clean sheet wasn't arriving today.
However, Luton responded through Tom Lockyer in the 49th-minute with a header that Steffen could do nothing about, and then Steffen gave away a penalty during his own interpretation of the sweeper keeper role. The contact was minimal with the 28-year-old American trying to get out of the challenge, but Luton's Carlton Morris earned and converted the spot kick.
Carlton Morris ya beauty #LUTMID pic.twitter.com/9hTobhnhk8
— papa saka (@papa_saka) April 24, 2023
Luton's 2-1 win tightens their grip on third while Middlesborough is looking at a fourth-place finish. The bigger question is who they'll ultimately play in the playoff semifinals with fifth and sixth-place still up in the air.
