WHAT HAPPENED?
On his senior Tottenham debut, 25-year-old goalkeeper Brandon Austin – a former U.S. youth international – was named Man of the Match as Spurs fell to Newcastle 2-1 in Premier League action on Saturday. An early Spurs strike from Dom Solanke was cancelled out by an Anthony Gordon equalizer two minutes later, with Sweden international Alexander Isak scoring the winner in the 38th minute for the Magpies.
Austin, meanwhile, represented the U.S. only once at the youth level, but was on the bench for three other matches at the U18 level. In his lone cameo for the U.S., he led the squad to a 5-3 penalty shootout victory over Slovakia where he made a crucial save in the second round of spot kicks.
Saturday marked the goalkeeper’s first competitive match at the senior level since 2021 — with the third-string shotstopper stepping up immensely for his club when they needed him most.
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The 25-year-old recorded two important saves on the day, with a performance that saw him recognized postmatch by teammates and fans.
Speaking after the contest, manager Ange Postecoglou praised him for the performance.
“Yeah, he was great. Everyone was great, unbelievable. Considering what we had to put up with…Radu [Dragusin] and Archie [Gray] literally got off sickbeds to play today, and Radu was shattered at half-time,” he said. “Brandon, obviously we found out yesterday was playing. I can’t be prouder of the players, I’m just angry and disappointed it wasn’t football that denied them getting the rewards today.”
DID YOU KNOW?
Austin also represented England at youth international levels, playing for their U20 and U21 squads, but never logged a start for the Three Lions across U20 and U21 squads, primarily playing as a backup goalkeeper.
In addition, he had a short stint on loan with Orlando City SC – making five league appearances for the MLS club.
WHAT NEXT FOR AUSTIN?
Austin will hope his performance was enough to sway the mind of manager Ange Postecoglou going forward, with the Australian coach potentially viewing him as a option in net once again when Spurs return to the pitch on Wednesday against Liverpool in the EFL Cup.