‘Penalties are my thing’: USMNT GK Matt Freese turns Harvard, MLS Next Pro preparation into Gold Cup heroics

The Concacaf Gold Cup may have brought a new hero to the national team of the United States in Matt Freese. The unlikely goalkeeper star saved three Costa Rica penalty in a sudden dood Shootout, and played an important role in the USMNT to the semi-final of the Gold Cup. The fact that he was even on the field, let alone playing a leading role, was incredibly unlikely. In the camp, Freese was the third of three keepers, presumably behind USMNT Starter Matt Turner, while former starter Zack Steffen also wanted to get his first start under Mauricio Pochettino. However, Steffen left the national team camp due to injury and Patrick Schulte, who might have been his replacement, was also not in the camp due to injury. Because he already knows what Turner can do, Pochettino is used to Freese while he continues to experiment with his team.

Sunday’s game, the manager showed exactly that. Freese has a long history of studying fines, and after guessing most of them and almost saving the recording of Francisco Calvo during the regulations, how can someone doubt him? Even more impressive than coming close during the regulations, Freese Calvo filled the shootout and remained centrally when the Costa Rican immediately took his attempt to him. Freese gave the honor for his salvation about Calvo’s punishment in the shootout to his goalkeeper coach, but his tendencies of the Ticos have paid off.

“Punishments are my thing. [On] The plane runs here to Minnesota. I studied the penalties, “Freese said after the game.” I studied them all week and was ready for it when we needed it, and the one I didn’t go further [was a] Suggestion of my goalkeeper coach Toni Jimenez. “

Who is Matt Freese?

Freese, a resident of Wayne, Pennsylvania, is one of the many ties with Philadelphia Union with this USMNT team. Because he was involved in the Bethlehem steel in USL, Freese decided to register with Harvard while playing there from 2017-18 before he returned to sign his own soil with the Union in 2019. That time with Harvard was quite formative for Freese, paying dividends in the Gold Cup.

“I actually did a very long research project at the university about penalties,” Freese said. “To be able to trust things like that and to deal with many statistics and things like that, read the game and read their hips and things like that, is huge.”

Adding that study with his experience that he has been picked up so far and it is clear why Freese is so suitable for saving penalties.

Freese debuted for the Union in April of that year as a replacement in a 3-0 win over CF Montreal. Freese would make 13 performances for the Union, while most of his time came to play for their MLS Next Pro Side de Union II. Because they were behind triple keeper of the year Andre Blake, opportunities were hard to find, but one aspect of playing in MLS Next Pro helped Freese to prepare at his time.

Each game that ends in a draw goes to a penalty shootout, so a team gets a chance to earn two points in the table instead of one. This is to give young players real playing experience with shootouts, because it is something that cannot be replicated in training situations without pressure. In 2022 with Philadelphia Union II, Freese played 16 games and won 3 of the 4 shootouts in which he participated.

In January 2023 Freese was traded to New York City FC after the departure of Sean Johnson from the club, and he earned the starting role with them and got up to one of the best keepers in MLS in recent years. Freese was a finalist for keeper of the year in the 2024 season, as a season in which he also won a penalty shootout in the play-offs against Cincinnati FC, and went 1-1 in the American open cups. He eventually lost to Kristijan Kahlina. It was a season that Freese put on the map.

For those who keep track of at home, the shootout victory of Sunday sets its total record over six victories from eight attempts.

Out of nowhere in the USMNT

In 2025, Kamp was called under Pochettino in January and did not appear, but he did enough to return to the camp for the friendly matches in July that Turkiye and Switzerland are confronted with. Freese got his senior debut in the loss for Turkiye and has now retained the role for the Gold Cup, where he has now received an extensive look under Pochettino. A player who does not have many usmnt youth performances because of how many talented young keepers compete for places, Freese has been able to get the most out of his chance and quickly rise by he on the Nationale Toneel.

Can Fresse de Starter be at the World Cup?

If Matt Turner finds no movement where he can regularly get playing time, the starting role for the USMNT can be wide open. Pochettino has emphasized that members on the side have to play club football to earn opportunities with the team and that he doesn’t care at what level someone plays if they perform well. This extensive view of Freese only reinforces that, but it is difficult to tell how high Freese the ranks climbed during the Gold Cup.

The shootout was a strong moment, but with a savings percentage of 66.7% and a –.18 goals, Freese is an average open game during the tournament. All that is not up to him, with defenders who rotate and make mistakes, but he makes the rescues he should make and not prepared the USMNT to victory with his rescues of open play. That could change if he converts fuel from the shootout victory into a great performance during this tournament, but a healthy Schulte and Steffen will push him, especially if the trio is still in MLS when the World Cup 2026 is walking around.

It offers Pochettino a difficult decision to make, especially in view of the fact that the keeper has not been a position over the years that the USMNT has been worried about. Faced with similar options, it will come down to which keeper’s style Pochettino and his staff prefer, and Freese does not hurt his case by being involved in three consecutive camps, but if the World Cup started tomorrow, it is probably still Turner’s task, there is slightly less than a year for Frees and others.

Even if he does not earn the runway, a penalty shootout specialist as a back -up can be a valuable tool in the arsenal of managers. The unique history and skills of Freese means that he can be of value to this team, even if he does not start, an exciting development and one that shows the benefits of Pochettino’s willingness to experiment, and the ability of Freese to specialize.