Sean Johnson (soccer)

For other people named Sean Johnson or similar, see Sean Johnson (disambiguation).

Sean Everet Johnson (born May 31, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Toronto FC and the United States national team.

Sean Johnson

Johnson with New York City FC in 2019
Personal information
Full name	Sean Everet Johnson[1]
Date of birth	(1989-05-31) May 31, 1989 (age 36)[2]
Place of birth	Lilburn, Georgia, United States
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)[3]
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Toronto FC
Number	1
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2008	UCF Knights	37	(0)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2009	Atlanta Blackhawks	7	(0)
2010–2016	Chicago Fire	176	(0)
2017–2022	New York City FC	179	(0)
2023–	Toronto FC	70	(0)
International career‡
2009	United States U20	4	(0)
2012	United States U23	2	(0)
2011–	United States	13	(0)
Medal record Representing  United States Men's soccer CONCACAF Gold Cup Winner 2013 Winner 2017 Winner 2021 Runner-up 2019 CONCACAF Nations League Winner 2022–23
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of August 16, 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of June 28, 2023

Club career

College and amateur

Sean Johnson in 2011

Johnson grew up in Lilburn, Georgia, where he attended Brookwood High School.^[4] For a brief period he attended school in California where he played for his high school in Los Angeles County. He would graduate from there in 2005.

Johnson moved to Florida to play college soccer at the University of Central Florida,^[5] where he earned Member of the C-USA Commissioner's Honor Roll and was named Team MVP in 2008. He left college early to enter the 2010 MLS SuperDraft as a Generation Adidas player.

During his college years Johnson also played one season with Atlanta Blackhawks in the USL Premier Development League.^[6]

Professional

Sean Johnson was drafted in the fourth round (51st overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire.^[7] He was the last Generation Adidas player selected in that draft. He made his MLS debut on August 1, 2010, during a 3–2 victory over Los Angeles Galaxy after earning the starting spot over Andrew Dykstra. In his rookie season, he earned back to back "Save of the Week" honors. In 2013, he was named the Chicago Fire's Defender of the Year. He had an 11–9–7 record with the Fire, including with 6 clean sheets.

On December 11, 2016, Atlanta United acquired Johnson from the Chicago Fire for general allocation money. Later that day New York City FC acquired Johnson from Atlanta United in exchange for general allocation money and target allocation money.^[8] He made 206 total appearances for NYCFC and won the 2021 MLS Cup with the club as their starting goalkeeper.

On January 27, 2023, Johnson signed a two-year contract with Toronto FC.^[9]

International career

Johnson holds United States and Jamaican citizenships.^[10] He had brief tryouts with the Jamaican under-17 team in 2005 and under-20 team in 2008.

Johnson was selected to the United States men's national under-20 team in 2009. He appeared in one match in the 2009 CONCACAF U-20 Championship and later took part in three friendly matches. He also participated in the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup as an unused substitute.^[11]

Johnson was a member of the under-23 national team that participated in the 2012 Olympic Games qualifying tournament. After an injury to Bill Hamid, Johnson entered the game on the 39th minute of the last group match against El Salvador.^[12]

Johnson earned his first senior cap for the United States national team entering as a halftime substitute in a friendly match against Chile on January 22, 2011.^[13]

Johnson was named one of three goalkeepers assigned to the United States's 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster by coach Jurgen Klinsmann. He served as second choice keeper to Nick Rimando during a pre-tournament friendly against Guatemala and for the duration of the tournament. Johnson earned his first senior national team start on July 17, 2013, in the final match of the group stage, recording a clean sheet in a 1–0 victory against rival Costa Rica. During that game he made a key save in the 80th minute which led to the US's winning goal. The start officially cap-tied the dual-national Johnson to the United States.^[10]

On November 9, 2022, Johnson was named to the United States's roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.^[14] He did not play during the tournament, serving as a backup to Matt Turner.

Johnson won the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League despite not playing during the tournament.^[15]

Personal life

His parents, Everet and Joy Johnson, are of Jamaican and African-American descent respectively.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played August 16, 2025^[16]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Playoffs[a]		National cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Atlanta Blackhawks	2009[17]	Premier Development League	7	0	—		—		—		—		7	0
Chicago Fire	2010	Major League Soccer	13	0	—		1	0	2[c]	0	—		16	0
	2011		28	0	—		4	0	—		—		32	0
	2012		31	0	1[d]	0	0	0	—		—		32	0
	2013		28	0	—		3	0	—		—		31	0
	2014		33	0	—		4	0	—		—		37	0
	2015		21	0	—		3	0	—		—		24	0
	2016		22	0	—		0	0	—		—		22	0
	Total		176	0	1	0	15	0	2	0	—		194	0
New York City FC	2017	Major League Soccer	32	0	2[d]	0	1	0	—		—		35	0
	2018		32	0	3[d]	0	0	0	—		—		35	0
	2019		29	0	1	0	0	0	—		—		30	0
	2020		23[e]	0	1[d]	0	—		3[f]	0	2[g]	0	29	0
	2021		29	0	4[d]	0	—		—		1[h]	0	34	0
	2022		34	0	3[d]	0	—		6[f]	0	—		43	0
	Total		179	0	14	0	1	0	9	0	3	0	206	0
Toronto FC	2023	Major League Soccer	20	0	—		1	0	—		2[h]	0	23	0
	2024		25	0	—		2	0	—		3[h]	0	30	0
	2025		25	0	0	0	0	0	—		—		25	0
	Total		70	0	0	0	3	0	—		5	0	78	0
Career total			432	0	15	0	19	0	11	0	8	0	485	0

1. Includes MLS Cup playoffs
2. Includes U.S. Open Cup, Canadian Championship
3. Appearances in North American SuperLiga
4. Appearance(s) in MLS Cup Playoffs
5. Includes three appearances in MLS is Back Tournament group stage
6. Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
7. Two appearances in MLS is Back Tournament knockout stage
8. Appearance(s) in Leagues Cup

International

As of match played June 28, 2023^[18]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
United States	2011	1	0
	2012	1	0
	2013	2	0
	2014	0	0
	2015	1	0
	2016	0	0
	2017	0	0
	2018	0	0
	2019	3	0
	2020	1	0
	2021	0	0
	2022	1	0
	2023	3	0
Total		13	0

Honors

New York City FC

• MLS Cup: 2021^[19]

United States

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2013,^[20] 2017,^[21] 2021^[22]
• CONCACAF Nations League: 2022–23^[23]

Individual

• MLS Cup MVP: 2021
• MLS All-Star: 2022^[24]