SEATTLE — It is a typical thing to hear in soccer circles, fans and journalists often talk about who is a team’s No. 1 starting goalkeeper. For a long time, the U.S. women’s national team had a clear, consistent answer: Alyssa Naeher. Other goalkeepers rarely got playing time and only in friendlies or when Naeher was injured.
Those conversations around the senior national team have continued, but now with a robust debate about who should assume that mantle: Claudia Dickey or Phallon Tullis-Joyce. While one may be better than the other, head coach Emma Hayes is focusing on developing both of them.
“We have been trying to create at least two contenders per position, but it seems to be that we have an obsession in football around who’s the No. 1, and we don’t say the same about outfield players,” Hayes said ahead of her team’s long-awaited return to Seattle. “I could spend all of our time developing one goalkeeper all the way through, and then the person behind has zero experience.
“Then what a failure as a coach that you don’t prepare players in the same way because we’re so stuck sometimes with traditionalism in football. … My job is to develop at least two goalkeepers that will be in contention for [the World Cup] next summer.”
There is no question in Hayes’ mind, though, that Tullis-Joyce and Dickey are the two leading the way. And just because she isn’t playing one nearly all the minutes as an outright No. 1 option, instead very mindfully splitting them, doesn’t mean she isn’t constantly evaluating them.
So, given how little time Hayes gets her players in international camp, how is she evaluating the goalkeepers’ performances for club and country?
Hayes says the starting point is the team’s model on how they want their goalkeepers to play on both sides of the ball — that is the measuring stick. But that measure has to be taken in context, particularly when evaluating club play.
One example Hayes gave is that they want their goalkeepers to be competent at building both long and short, but they have to accept that their club team may only focus on one and not develop the other. She also pointed out that there is a difference between being on a team that gives up a lot of chances compared to the U.S., where more often you must be prepared to face one big chance.
They are also playing in different leagues. Hayes said Tullis-Joyce’s experience in the Champions League may mean she is “more accustomed to playing high-level opponents on a more regular basis.” While Dickey “has been developed domestically, played in youth national team tournaments.”
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Even if she functionally chooses a No. 1, Hayes indicated it could change based on the game in front of them.
“One is more comfortable doing certain actions, the other one’s more comfortable doing the others, and sometimes that will be dependent on the opponent, much like it would be if you are a striker that might be particularly good at stretching or a striker who comes ball side,” Hayes explained.
Even while trying to split the experience, a variety of factors go into deciding who will start each game. On Tuesday night in Seattle, there was an opportunity for Dickey to play in front of her NWSL club (Seattle Reign) fans. Both keepers were “earmarked to play a game” and, alongside a heavily-rotated, young lineup, Hayes started Tullis-Joyce.
“I know people don’t want to hear this from me, but I don’t go, ‘Oh, we’ve got a game in Seattle. She plays there. She plays there.’ I don’t think like that. I wouldn’t be a top professional if I did,” Hayes said. “So it was in order to develop different relationships. That was the decision taken.”
So Tullis-Joyce got to make her individual return to Seattle, where she started her NWSL career in 2021 with then OL Reign and was beloved by the fans. Tullis-Joyce noted that she appreciated seeing the ‘Octopus Army’ sweatshirts in the crowd. The dedicated fan group is named after the saves that made it seem like Tullis-Joyce had eight arms and her marine biology social media videos. “I really appreciated the fans here. They’ve always been so great to me.”
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Dickey joined the Reign the next year, in 2022. Midway through the 2023 season, Dickey took over the starting role from Tullis-Joyce, and the latter transferred to Manchester United that September.
“We have quite the history now. We just keep growing those years and the camaraderie,” Tullis-Joyce told reporters after the 0-1 loss to Japan. “I have a lot of respect for all the goalkeepers that are called into the U.S. pool. It’s great competition. We push each other to be the best versions of ourselves.”
Now, with the senior U.S. team, the two goalkeepers are once again teammates, vying for the same spot but focusing most on development so that the team is as equipped as possible to add a fifth star above the crest next summer.
