Zack Steffen, Caden Clark, White Praised by Fans as USMNT Beat Costa Rica in Friendly

Mauricio Pochettino pushed all the right buttons on Wednesday night.

Zack Steffen was impenetrable in goal, Brian White and Caden Clark each opened their USMNT accounts and the Americans romped to a 3-0 victory over Costa Rica at Orlando's Inter&Co Stadium.

Normally, White and Clark each scoring their debut goals for the USMNT would have stolen all the headlines. Patrick Agyemang scoring goals in consecutive matches would have been a candidate for the top storyline as well.

But Steffen—who was a fairly shocking choice as the starting goalkeeper after not making an appearance for the USMNT since March 2022—could not be ignored after a pair of astonishing saves:

So USMNT fans and pundits alike had plenty of options when it came to doling out praise, and they didn't hesitate to spread the love:

Steffen was not a part of the plans under former manager Craig Berhalter in the past few years, but Poch indicated back in October that Steffen would be given the opportunity to earn a place with the team, rostering him for friendlies against Panama and Canada.

"We know him, and I think he deserved the opportunity to be with us," he told reporters. "Of course, we always put all the circumstances when we made the decision, but I think he deserved the opportunity to be with us. That is our first roster; I explained a little bit that we were working from the distance, with all the [U.S. Soccer] analysis guys there, just trying to find and to see who is the best squad or the best balance. And I think it's a good opportunity to see him and analyze, but not only with him, all the players that are involved in the roster."

"Everybody knows that [Pochettino] came in and said that there are spots open, and that he wants there to be competition in every position," Steffen told Tom Hindle of Goal.com earlier in January. "That's my mindset. I want to get back to number one."

He has a long way to go in that regard, but he's clearly shown Pochettino enough to earn the start on Wednesday. And the United States' goalkeeper situation is in a bit of flux at the moment, leaving a glimmer of hope for Steffen yet.

He certainly took advantage of his opportunity against Costa Rica.