Matt Freese is a first-time MLS All-Star, but that well-deserved recognition awkwardly arrives right while he's being put through the internet wringer following his error in the United States loss to Belgium in the Round of 16 of the World Cup.
Freese has played at a level worthy of All-Star consideration for three years, but this is his first time actually receiving the recognition, and it just so happens to coincide with everyone continuing to talk about the most scrutinized and ridiculed misplay of his professional career.
Still, his inclusion on the All-Star roster is significant because NYCFC has had almost no involvement in recent MLS All-Star Games. The club has only had one representative make an All-Star team since the 2023 season, when defender Thiago Martins made the squad for the 2024 MLS All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio.
Freese becomes just the 12th New York City FC player to ever make an All-Star team, joining David Villa, Frank Lampard, Andrea Pirlo, Josh Saunders, Alex Ring, Maxi Moralez, James Sands, Sean Johnson, Taty Castellanos, Alexander Callens, and the aforementioned Thiago Martins.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper did not get voted into the MLS All-Star XI, which got revealed in early June before the World Cup kicked off and features Nashville SC goalkeeper Brian Schwake as the starter set to face a group of All-Stars from Mexico's Liga MX. Freese instead makes the squad as one of 15 "coach's selections" made by Charlotte FC manager Dean Smith, though notably made not just by Smith, but through "a collaborative effort by...Dean Smith and Major League Soccer."
If you read between the lines there, it's easy to see why Freese is on this particular All-Star roster: He was the starting goalkeeper for the United States men's national team at the World Cup, and MLS is trying to capitalize on that. His inclusion on the final MLS All-Star roster was likely decided well before the gaffe and the dispiriting loss against Belgium. Freese is also joined as a coach's selection goalkeeper by Canada's World Cup starter, Maxime Crépeau of Orlando City SC, despite Crépeau having some truly rough early-season stats in MLS, so the choices at goalkeeper behind Schwake feel intentionally, overtly World Cup-inspired.
No questions to be raised over Freese and his worthiness for involvement in the All-Star Game. He's in the top 10 of MLS goalkeepers so far this season for saves, save percentage, and goals against per 90 minutes, and that's just through roughly half of this 2026 season. Freese was a finalist for Goalkeeper of the Year in 2025 and might have had his best individual season in MLS in 2024, so this is a slightly overdue honor.
Freese's status as USMNT starter and his seasons of consistent excellence in MLS as NYCFC's starter mean he's an obvious candidate for an All-Star game, and now a midweek trip to Charlotte is added to Freese's first stretch of chances to play again competitively in the wake of the tough end to his World Cup.
Matthew Mangam
It's unfortunate that the All-Star selection comes at a time when there's so much else being said about Freese's performance in one moment in one game for the national team, but that's what the heat of the World Cup can do, and especially what a mistake like Freese's, in what was the most-watched USMNT match ever, can do to a player's perception.
Freese isn't alone in this regard, with fellow USMNT struggler vs Belgium, center-back Tim Ream, voted in as a starter and set to play on his home turf. Freese and Ream are two of four All-Stars from the United States World Cup team, with defender Max Arfsten of Columbus Crew and midfielder Sebastian Berhalter of Vancouver Whitecaps FC the others.
There are 13 total World Cup participants among the MLS All-Stars this year, though it's to be determined if Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul of Argentina/Inter Miami CF will show, given the ghosting of the game a year ago by Messi and Jordi Alba.
This year's MLS All-Star Game is at Charlotte's home, Bank of America Stadium, on the night of Wednesday, July 29, right after Freese and NYCFC play on July 22 in Columbus, then again on July 25 at home at Yankee Stadium against Robert Lewandowski and Chicago Fire FC. You can see the full 29-player roster below, and some of the Liga MX participating players have been confirmed too, a list that includes onetime Matt Freese penalty shootout rival Keylor Navas of Pumas.
MLS All-Star Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Maxime Crépeau (Orlando City SC; Coach’s Selection), Matt Freese (New York City FC; Coach’s Selection), Brian Schwake (Nashville SC; Voted In)
DEFENDERS (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; Coach’s Selection), Lucas Herrington (Colorado Rapids; Coach’s Selection), Richie Laryea (Toronto FC; Commissioner’s Pick), Anthony Markanich (Minnesota United FC; Voted In), Mbekezeli Mbokazi (Chicago Fire FC; Voted In), Steven Moreira (Columbus Crew; Coach’s Selection), Daniel Munie (San Jose Earthquakes; Coach’s Selection), Andy Najar (Nashville SC; Voted In), Jackson Ragen (Seattle Sounders FC; Coach’s Selection), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; Voted In)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Voted In), Pep Biel (Charlotte FC; Coach’s Selection), Rodrigo De Paul (Inter Miami CF; Coach’s Selection), Evander (FC Cincinnati; Coach’s Selection), Carles Gil (New England Revolution; Coach’s Selection), Zavier Gozo (Real Salt Lake; Voted In), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC; Voted In), Thomas Müller (Vancouver Whitecaps FC; Coach’s Selection), Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC; Coach’s Selection)
FORWARDS (7): Hugo Cuypers (Chicago Fire FC; Voted In), Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC; Coach’s Selection), Julian Hall (Red Bull New York; Commissioner’s Pick), Son Heung-Min (LAFC; Voted In), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF; Voted In), Petar Musa (FC Dallas; Coach’s Selection), Sam Surridge (Nashville SC; Coach’s Selection)
