Luton's World Cup-bound keeper Horvath pays emotional tribute to his parents for putting their lives on hold so he could realise his dream

World Cup-bound Luton keeper Ethan Horvath has paid an emotional tribute to his parents for putting their lives on hold to give him the best chance of making it as a professional footballer.

The 27-year-old, who was born in Colorado, played the for the US Soccer Development Academy side Real Colorado and Arapahoe High School, before heading to England as a teenager to try out with both Manchester City and Stoke City.

He then went to Norway to train with Molde, but was unable to sign for the club due to his age, which is when his parents stepped in, agreeing to leave the States to move with him and ensure he had the opportunity of becoming a professional.

It was a decision that worked out well, Horvath winning the Norwegian Premier League and Cup while with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, before moving to Club Brugge in 2017, where he won the Belgian Pro League three times and also the Super Cup, plus featuring in the Champions League.

He also won his first of his eight caps for his country in 2016 and after returning to England in 2021 to join Nottingham Forest, agreed a season-long loan with the Hatters in the summer, where his consistent form ensured he was part of head Gregg Berhalter’s plans to head to Qatar.

In a special video message on the US website, Horvath who will battle it out Arsenal’s Matt Turner and New York City’s Sean Johnson for the number one jersey, spoke about just how much of a role his parents have played in him getting to be part of the biggest tournament in world football.

He said: “When I went on the European tour I was 15, we were two weeks in Europe, training, playing games in Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

“I was lucky enough at the end of the tour, Molde asked me to go and train there.

“They wanted to sign me after the first session, but since I was so young at the time, I didn't know how to legally, so after the one week I went back to Colorado, and started my Junior year of high school

“That January my mum and I, we flew to England, I dropped out of high school, but my mum flew with me so we could continue doing home schooling.

“I started off at Man City for about two, three weeks, then after that went to Stoke City for about three months, before I had to go back to California for an under 18 national team camp.

"That’s when Molde came calling and said ‘we think we've found a scenario where we can get this to work where Ethan can come and stay and not have to come back and forth.’

“Their solution was that my mum and dad have to move over there and become residents of the country and since I was under 18, I could apply for a family visa.

“They sold the car, sold the house, put furniture and whatever else into storage.

“They flew my mum and dad over, situated them in an apartment and had jobs for them.

"It wasn't the most flattering of jobs they had, they were pretty much janitors at the stadium, waking up early in the morning, having to go to the stadium and pretty much clean toilets and scrub the floors.

“It’s not nice knowing your parents are cleaning toilets and clearing up after your peers in the hanging room, but at the same time it was also nice as while training I could always see them and always give them a wave, so the bigger picture took over from there.

“They put their life on hold for two plus years just to see if this dream would work out.

"What my parents did, if they didn't do that, I don't think it would be where I am today, sitting where I am today.

“Without their sacrifice, I don't think I would made it as far as I had."

USA begin their World Cup campaign against Wales, who have Town’s Tom Lockyer in their squad, next Monday, kick-off at 7pm.