Chris Toth discusses heart problems stopping him playing outfield, USA’s superb performances over the last 18 months and hopes of reaching the knockout phase at UAE 2024.

A cardiothoracic surgeon summoned Mr and Mrs Toth into his office, sat them down, and broke the news. Their firstborn had a dextro-transposition of the great arteries. His pulmonary artery was where his aorta one should have been and vice-versa. Oxygen wasn’t getting to his heart. The horror on their faces was soon relaxed – marginally and momentarily. The medic explained that a tried-and-trusted surgery existed. It would enable their son to lead a normal life – with one aftereffect: he wouldn’t be able to play sport. That would have been music to the ears of most parents, but the Toths aren’t most parents. Sport, or football in particular, was like oxygen to them. Gyorgy Toth played in goal for the Magical Magyars alongside Ferenc Puskas and Sandor Kocsis. His son Zoltan, another goalkeeper, was also capped by Hungary before becoming a US indoor soccer Hall of Famer, the San Diego Sockers going as far as to retire his jersey. Zoltan was sure that a child he bore wouldn’t ever be happy without ‘The Beautiful Game’. “What’s the alternative?” he asked. The doctor paused and then, almost begrudgingly, informed them of a new surgery. It was riskier, but the risk, at least for the Toths, outweighed the reward: it would, if successful, enable Chris to play sport. They went for it. “I’m really, really relived they made that decision,” Chris told FIFA 34 years later. “I don’t think I could have ever been happy without soccer.” Chris didn’t grow up protecting nets like Gyorgy and Zoltan, but rippling them like his idol, Franceso Totti. He was tipped for a big future playing 11-a-side or on the indoor soccer circuit. Then disaster struck. Another heart problem prompted doctors to tell him, categorically, that he would have to stop trying emulate ‘The Eighth King of Rome’. The spin-off this time was that, if he wanted, he could play between the sticks. Today Chris Toth is arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet – indoor and on sand. The cheery Californian tells his story ahead of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup UAE 2024™.