Colorado's Horvath makes history in Qatar

Ethan Horvath's path to representing his country on soccer's biggest stage started when he was 7 years old.

Context: He was raised in a soccer family in Highlands Ranch — his father had played in college, his mother in high school. But he still surprised his family when the young Horvath told his parents he wanted to be a goalkeeper.

• His father, Peter, took his son's ambition seriously, and soon they started running backyard drills, according to a Mile High Sports magazine story from 2017.

Driving the news: The work paid off for Horvath, who last week learned he was among the 26 players chosen to represent the United States in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

• Horvath, who attended Arapahoe High School before dropping out to pursue a professional career, will be the first Coloradan to represent the U.S. on the men's national team in a World Cup.
• He currently plays for Luton Town, a club in England's second-tier league.

Between the lines: It's unclear if Horvath will play in the tournament, since he's a backup goalkeeper on the squad.

• Most outlets like The Sporting News, CBS Sports, Fox Sports and ESPN have Arsenal's Matt Turner as the USMNT's starting keeper, with Horvath as a strong No. 2 option.

Yes, but: That didn't stop TV's "Ted Lasso" from writing Horvath an uplifting message on a billboard in Denver: "You're the rock and a hard place. Ain't nothing is gonna get past you," the message reads.

What to watch: The USMNT will start its World Cup campaign against Wales at noon today.