Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen has admitted he was mad and heartbroken after missing out on a place in the USA's squad for the Qatar World Cup.
Steffen was part of the US national team as recently as March when he started against Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica in World Cup qualifiers. The 27-year-old admitted to The Athletic that he missed May and June's international matches to spend time with his family to overcome mental health issues.
City's goalkeeper was then not selected in September for friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia but was still expected by many to be included in the USA's squad for the World Cup. However, when the squad was announced in November, it was revealed that head coach Gregg Berhalter had opted to select Arsenal's Matt Turner, Luton Town's Ethan Horvath and New York City FC's Sean Johnson.
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Opening up on his reaction to not being in the squad, Steffen said: "I was shocked, I was sad, I was mad, I was heartbroken. I had a lot of feelings, different feelings.
"At the same time, I believe God has a plan for me, for all of us. I trust him. I walk in faith with him."
Steffen had previously told The Athletic that he was looking forward to meeting up with England's City stars in Qatar and despite his personal disappointment, the American was able to watch his country draw with Wales and the Three Lions before beating Iran to secure their place in the knockout stages. "Yeah, I was able to watch the games. It wasn’t easy," he added.
"But I still wanted to support them, see them do the best they can, prove the world wrong – that we can play and we’re a force to be reckoned with. It was hard to do that, but we’re only in the World Cup every four years."
The USA would be knocked out at the round of 16 stage, losing 3-1 to the Netherlands. "It hurt," Steffen admitted.
"I try to be understanding and see both sides of everything, but it was tough, the last month, to deal with this." Steffen has established himself as the number one at Middlesbrough since joining on a season-long loan switch from the Etihad.
The goalkeeper made a winning return to action on Saturday as Middlesbrough beat Luton Town 2-1 to move Boro up to 12th.
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