Speaking with the Ozoon Sportsbook in Canada, former USMNT and Premier League goalkeeper Kasey Keller has never been one to mince words, and his latest exclusive interview is no exception. From the managerial rollercoaster surrounding the U.S. Men’s National Team to the untouchable legacies of soccer’s greatest icons, Keller offers a brutally honest breakdown of the current football landscape.
Whether he is dissecting why Mauricio Pochettino might be making an imminent exit, explaining why Jesse Marsch “destroyed” his chances of taking over the national squad, or predicting Harry Kane’s future across the pond in Major League Soccer, Keller’s insights are a must-read for any fan of the beautiful game. He also weighs in on the harsh realities of soccer culture in America, Lamine Yamal’s Hollywood potential, and what his former club, Tottenham Hotspur, desperately needs to do to shed its reputation as a “selling club.”
Key Interview Takeaways
- USMNT Managerial Drama: Keller predicts a swift exit for Mauricio Pochettino and completely dismisses Jesse Marsch’s national team coaching prospects.
- The American Soccer Reality: Why a World Cup victory wouldn’t fundamentally change the sports hierarchy or cultural focus in the United States.
- Untouchable GOATs: Why superstars like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will never eclipse the staggering numbers put up by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
- Major League Transfers: The realistic viability of heavyweights like Harry Kane and Virgil van Dijk moving to the MLS.
- Spurs’ Stagnation: A harsh reality check for Tottenham’s European hopes and a plea for the club to stop selling its top talent.
“There’s no such thing as the next face, until the next face is there. I am not a fan at all of anointing somebody before they actually do something.” — Kasey Keller on the future of American soccer
Dive into the full transcript below for Keller’s unfiltered thoughts on the World Cup, the Premier League, and the future of the sport globally.
I agree with Emmanuel Petit that USMNT winning World Cup wouldn’t change a thing for soccer in the country
Yes. Maybe I have a different perspective because I was playing for Borussia Monchengladbach before we were building up for the 2006 World Cup, and you couldn’t go anywhere in that year previous without supermarkets of cut-outs of Klinsmann or Ballack, or Klose. All the talk was about that. It was the singular focus. That’s impossible in America, in America there’s always something going on.
If you were in Seattle, from January to the opening match, in Lumen Field. You would have been like ‘are they doing a World Cup here?’ There’s so much sensory overload in America that it’s not until now it’s time for this. And when that time is there, you get everything. I’m on
SportsCenter, the day before the US’ first match, and because I’m American it’s what I’m used to. I got three questions and the third question is ‘hey did you watch the Knicks match last night?’ The rest of the world is very singularly focused, the US is not.
Christian Pulisic is USA’s equivalent to David Beckham
Christian Pulisic for sure, no question. Even now I see Pulisic in a tonne of commercials, I see Tyler Adams has a couple, Weston McKennie has a couple. I still see Beckham in more commercials here than any current American players – so that shows you where we are still.
We’re not quite there.
There is no ‘next face’ of soccer in America after Christian Pulisic
There’s no such thing as the next face, until the next face is there. I am not a fan at all of anointing somebody before they actually do something. They need to do it first, before they come the next face. I remember I was speaking about Freddy Adu and someone asked me is he ‘the next big thing?’, and I said ‘let him be something first, and then worry if he is going to be a big thing.’
USMNT must make a statement vs Belgium to change fans’ minds on soccer in the US
We have to put a little asterisk on this tournament, with the expansion of 48 teams. The group stages are a little more diluted, you have to look now at all-time leading goalscorers too, because we’re seeing numbers against teams that we haven’t seen in the past very often. I still think this is a really big game for the US because until they beat Bosnia, they hadn’t beaten a
European team in 5 years. It had been 10 matches lost in a row and who is that team they beat 5 years ago, it was Bosnia. So you have to make some statements, if you’re going to change people’s minds. Like I said this isn’t the Belgium side of 4, 8, 10 or 12 years ago – but it’s still a better statement. OK you’ve beaten a good European side to get to the next level. As of right now, you still have to do it but you beat the teams you should beat.
Jesse Marsch destroyed any chance he had of taking over USMNT – he’d get roasted
No. If Jesse was a potential candidate, he absolutely destroyed any chance he ever has of coaching the US national team. He would get roasted if he is even a candidate for the national team for the antics he has done after he wasn’t chosen the last time. So Jesse, thanks, but no thanks. Pochettino has been very clear throughout this whole process, that the timing of this, the opportunity of this, was too good to pass up. But it has been pretty clear he wants to get back to club football. I think he is too young to become a national team manager. I think he realises that. There’s a point where you miss the day to day of club management.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mauricio Pochettino announced his exit this week
I think it’s a bad taste to say you’re going to go somewhere when you’re in the process of something else (when quizzed on a move to AC Milan). I wouldn’t be surprised (if he moved). I know there will be options for him with the way he has got the US playing, because there were a lot of question marks in the 20 months leading up to the World Cup. There were a lot of inconsistencies. I used to joke. I said the only consistent thing I’ve seen from Pochettino is the inconsistency. But I also preface that by saying this is 20-month pre-season, nothing matters until that first match vs Paraguay. Nothing matters. And what did we see in that first half against Paraguay, one of the best performances in US soccer history. So on that side of things, he got it exactly right. Once the US is finished with this tournament, I would be surprised if there was not an announcement in the week if he was taking over somewhere.
Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lamine Yamal will not take over the mantle from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Nobody. We have been privileged to see two players that join the other two players as the best players to ever play the game. Pele and Maradona, and now you have two guys at the same time battling each other. You be the next person that scores 60 goals a year for 15 years in a row, and then you come back and say ‘who’s that guy’. Harry Kane has been brilliant, Mbappe and Haaland have been brilliant, but when you’ve seen the numbers of what Messi and Ronaldo have done – it’s truly truly insane.
Yamal has the best chance of making it into showbiz and Hollywood
It depends on your personality. Messi doesn’t have the personality for that. I don’t watch French TV so I don’t know if Mbappe is that guy either. I think Lamine Yamal has a chance. The fact that he is still 18, about to turn 19, is frightening. Let’s see how he matures.
Ronaldo is completely different to how he was in those early Man Utd days, then the time he left Real Madrid and he was Cristiano right. I think what’s happening now is because of social media, you don’t have to be a big star to have a big media presence. You can just show I have a knack for this, this is something that I like doing, and something that I am good at. Take guys like Peter Crouch for example, he kind of had a pretty cool transition from playing because of what they were able to do where you didn’t have that access years before. Somebody had to make a decision that you could do that. Now you can make that decision yourself, and if you do a good job, it can have a life on its own.
I would love to see Harry Kane win Ballon d’Or
I would love to see Harry Kane win it. If Bayern had got to the final of the Champions League, and maybe not even have won it but at least got to the final. I love seeing somebody being rewarded who does things the right way, who isn’t pointing at the name on the back of his jersey, isn’t running around yelling ‘me me me’. It’s dropping into midfield, hitting a 60-year crossball, chasing back and defending. That is what I love.
I love also like we saw the other day, England had a lot of chances, couldn’t quite get clear-cut chances, then your star rises to score two brilliant goals to keep your dream alive. You need your stars to perform when the pressure is on. Harry missed that chance in the Ghana match, and then you go OK this isn’t going to happen again, and then bang bang, there’s two phenomenal goals.
France or Spain will win World Cup – England still lack a true No.10
I said from day one that it was going to be France or Spain. Obviously Spain got off to a slow start, and France have just been France. I mean I said the other day I think France can have a second team in this tournament and get to this final. And Jurgen Klinsmann said France can have three teams and fill up three of the four spots in the semi-final, they are that deep. Spain could have won that match yesterday by 6 goals. Mikel Oyarzabal has had a great tournament, but I would still love to see Spain with a David Villa, or a Fernando Torres in that No 9 role. But I think Spain is really really growing into the tournament.
I still think England can flip a switch and be better than they have been. I think they’re lacking a true No. 10 in midfield to kind of change the pace, slow things down, hit that killer pass – that has been lacking. But I’ve seen nothing that has changed my mind from my first picks of France and Spain.
Harry Kane could potentially move to MLS – it’s an attractive destination
Potentially. What did we just read the other day about this move of Lewandowski the other day to Chicago, and then his wife saying I don’t know if I want to go to Chicago. So there’s more to it then just a player saying this seems like a good way to finish my career. If it’s a family choice, and I think that’s what Messi was. When you’re talking about players like Harry Kane, you’re talking about options. And the options for Kane are: stop playing because you don’t need it, or this could be a really fun experience. The US has always been a very attractive destination for players.
Could Virgil van Dijk move to MLS? It’s not about signing a big name – the next step must be about winning
The tricky part is there’s a premium for players of a certain type. I’ve said this about MLS being really relevant in the local community, the next big step has to be about winning, it doesn’t have to be about ‘hey let’s sign this guy and sell a shirt or two’. Is Van Dijk going to help us win MLS Cup, or is he going to help us move our attendance needle, is he going to help us improve our international presence? Let us be honest, when Beckham came over here, there’s only a handful of players that can really move the needle. Obviously David’s presence, Messi clearly, Ronaldo would do that – even Zlatan had a little bit of an effect in LA, but not anywhere near what Messi was able to do.
Chelsea and Tottenham target Folarin Balogun is a London kid – he could be tempted by an opportunity to move back to the capital
Look the Premier league right now can pay you more than anywhere else. You have a very limited time in your career. Let’s be honest, Balogun is an Arsenal guy. He is a London kid. So an opportunity to move back to the capital, if that is right for him, it’s right for him. But you have to prove yourself, in those clubs you have to still get the job done or they’ll find someone else. I enjoyed the challenge of going to a new club, and winning over team-mates and fans, and being the first American to play in the top flight in Spain and captaining a side in Bundesliga.
But I wouldn’t say anything different if he said, I was at Arsenal but I’m at a new club now where I’m scoring goals, in a beautiful part of the world, I’m appreciated, I’m wanted. A little extra money, is that more important than being in a good situation in my career?
It will be insane if Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali can take Tottenham to the level we know they can get to
Everybody keeps waiting for Tottenham to become the Tottenham we know they can be. And if you can go to Spurs and be a part of that, it will be insane. And I just hope they get the right combinations, they get the right mindset. Just to get the club where it should be. It is a massive, massive club that has significantly underachieved, and is just begging to get back to going in the right direction. If you can be a part of that, it will be insane to be part of that first wave to get Tottenham back to where they belong.
I would love to see Spurs tell Lucas Bergvall he can’t leave
I would love to see Spurs say no, say we’re building. I’ll use Michael Carrick as a prime example. Spurs signed Carrick, does really well for four/five months abd then they triple their money and sell him to Man Utd. You saw that with Bale, you saw that with Modric. You saw that where they took the money instead of winning titles. The only way it makes sense for Spurs to get rid of him, is if they don’t want him. If they can get better and use that money to make their squad better, because they should not be a selling club. Business is business yeah. Let’s go back to Man Utd, you sell Ronaldo to Real Madrid – well you’re still winning titles. I would have loved to have seen Carrick, Modric and Bale win a title for Spurs and then maybe sell one of them, and then re-strengthen the side, bring in the next guy and win another title. How often did we see that with Man Utd and Arsenal in the 90s and 200s. Sell Anelka to Madrid, oh bring in Thierry Henry, win another title. You saw it with Cole and Yorke, and then you’re bringing in a Van Nistelerooy, but not at the expense of winning.
Spurs will finish top half but won’t challenge for Europe next season
Finish top half. I don’t think they’ll challenge for Europe next season, they may need another year. I think they’ll finish in the top half and then with some smart purchases. I am really interested to see a full year post Daniel Levy, and is there a different approach to things? That is what I am hoping, they can get stabilized, upper mid-table. First and foremost, re-establish home form, top half of the table and then grow from there.
Would Jonathan David and Tajon Buchanan be good additions for Man Utd? They must prove themselves at a smaller club first
I call a lot of La Liga. And Tajon, at the end of the season he wasn’t playing as much as he was at the beginning of the season. To go from Villarreal, not necessarily a starter to then going to Man Utd, may just be a bit of a leap. If it was the case of going to Bournemouth, Brighton or Fulham, and dominate, then take the next step up. What I don’t want to see from any player is making a move and end up being just deep in the squad. If you make a move, make a move to play. Prove yourself on the pitch.