NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese made the U.S. Men’s National Team’s No. 1 jersey his to lose after stellar performances between the sticks during the Gold Cup.
Freese picked up his first seven caps for the Stars & Stripes this summer, making his debut in a 2-1 friendly loss before the tournament to Türkiye. He kept two clean sheets in the opening two matches against Trinidad & Tobago and Saudi Arabia, but made a mistake that led to a nervy final group game against Haiti, which the Americans won 2-1.
The Wayne, PA native made headlines in the quarterfinal against Costa Rica, though. After playing out a 2-2 draw in normal time, Freese made three saves in the ensuing penalty shootout to help the U.S. advance to the semifinals against Guatemala. Freese was calm and confident, claiming crosses and loose balls in his area with authority in the final 10 minutes of the match as Guatemala pushed for an equalizer.
The U.S. eventually lost to Mexico in the final, but Freese made six stops to keep his side in the game as El Tri came back from 1-0 down.
“The experience was a huge honor, and to be given the nod was a massive honor,” Freese said. “It’s something I’m very grateful for. It shows a lot of trust that they had in me, going from zero caps to seven caps over one month. It was a time for me to learn how CONCACAF tournaments at the international level can go, and I certainly learned a lot. I felt like I was learning about the game management required in those types of games and the mentality you need. And learning how to go with two days of rest and [in] different cities, things like that.”
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino made it clear the goalkeeping spot was up for grabs before the tournament, saying, “I think now is the moment to, I think, to show ․ because it’s a fight between them — to show ‘That I am the No. 1.’”
The previous No. 1 and 2022 World Cup starter, Matt Turner, was part of the squad that finished second, but because of limited playing time for his club Crystal Palace, Pochettino opted to give Freese his first tournament caps ahead of a home 2026 World Cup. Turner made four appearances for Palace, none in the Premier League, while in contrast, Freese has been NYCFC’s No. 1 for the past two and a half seasons.
“It was incredibly meaningful,” Freese said. “It’s been one of my primary goals my entire life to make my debut, and then I was fortunate to get another six games after that. When they told me I was gonna be the starter for the tournament, two things went through my mind. One was I was prepared for it since January. I had been working with the goal of being ready to play those games, but not having the expectation that I would be playing those games.”
Freese believed he didn’t “deserve” the spot, but more so “earned” it. He went into the tournament preparing to “be the No. 2, the No. 3,” not expecting to start.
“I don’t think really anyone deserves to play for their country or deserves to play for the United States. I think it’s too big of an honor to deserve that,” said Freese. “So many people have been saying, ‘You deserve it, you deserve it.’ This is interesting because I don’t think there’s such a thing as deserving to play for New York City…It’s such an amazing city, it’s tough to think about deserving it. I think it’s just such an honor to represent the city and then, in the same way, an honor to represent the country.”
Host nations usually have fewer matches before the crucial tournament, and thus fewer opportunities to try different lineups, formations, systems, and players. For the U.S., the Gold Cup represented the only competitive opportunity in which these players could gel and learn how each other plays before entering the stage a year from now.
That is why it was crucial for Pochettino to get those key decisions right, such as identifying a team spine that could hold the group together next summer. Big names such as the usual captain Christian Pulisic, Giovanni Reyna, and Weston McKennie were missing from the tournament roster, but it looked like Pochettino found a starting XI that he was comfortable with.
The Argentine experimented with three different lineups in each group game but did not make a single change in the knockout rounds, showing his faith in the 11 he decided to use when it really mattered.
However, Freese’s mistake against Haiti could have easily cost him the gig. A Haitian ball played over the top was picked up by Tim Ream and passed back to Freese in goal. With the closest opposition players 10 yards away, Freese miskicked a lobbed pass meant for John Tolkin on the right flank. It fell to Louiciu Don Deedson, who took his invitation to score without hesitation, slotting it into the far side netting.
“Those things happen, I would much rather have not done that, and I’d much rather have it not happen,” said Freese. “But they do happen, and it’s part of the game, and the response is really what is more important. As a goalkeeper, you need to have enough maturity and enough presence to know that you can’t go on a downward spiral. In my mind, I wanted to be able to play three more games after something like that happened, and it’s not the time to victimize yourself and let your team down. You’ve got to rebound right away.”
However, Pochettino kept faith with the former Philadelphia Union academy keeper, saying of Freese at the time, “The best way to [show] trust in a player is not to tell nothing. Be careful with this or that? No! Move on. Remember: the most important action is the next one. If you’re thinking on the last one, you are dead. You’re going to [make] another mistake.”
Freese rewarded the faith with his penalty shootout heroics in the next match.
“I think I reminded myself of times when I was younger, when one mistake would lead to two, and that was the situation that I wanted to avoid, whether it was in that game or leading into the next game too,” he said.
Freese kept his gloves from his debut and his jersey from the final as mementos of his first international experience, but his focus is currently on NYCFC and the team’s playoff push in the latter half of the season.
Last season, Freese produced more penalty heroics in the first round of the MLS playoffs when City advanced past Cincinnati in a shootout, where Freese saved three penalties, too. If he continues to be one of the standout goalkeepers in MLS this season, there is a good chance he retains his spot in the starting XI when the first ball is kicked next summer.
“As far as moving forward, the staff said it was a big step for me this summer, but they said that that’s the minimum standard for me,” said Freese. “I just need to continue along that path, set a new foundation for myself, and keep building on that foundation.”
