It's nearly two months until the United States men's national team faces Paraguay in its FIFA World Cup opener, and one position still remains full of uncertainty.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino appears to have narrowed his starting goalkeeper spot down to New York City FC's Matt Freese or the New England Revolution's Matt Turner, but neither is at the level of Tim Howard or Kasey Keller, American goalkeeper predecessors who entered past World Cups in much better form while also playing for top European clubs.
Simply put, when Pochettino names his Starting XI on June 12, it might come down to which goalkeeper named Matt has performed better in Major League Soccer this season.
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Freese: A mixed start to 2026
While Freese has started 14 of the USMNT's last 16 games — conceding 16 goals and recording three clean sheets — his form for NYCFC has dipped in 2026 after a breakout 2024 and a solid 2025.
This season, Freese has saved 38 of the 56 shots (67.9 percent) he's faced, ranking him 17th out of the 30 starting MLS goalkeepers. Additionally, he's kept just one clean sheet and prevented 0.30 goals.
