Matt Freese back with USMNT for first post-World Cup camp

Matt Freese is right back with the United States men's national team, officially on the first USMNT roster assembled as Mauricio Pochettino starts to build towards the 2030 World Cup.

While any mention of Freese and the United States national team now brings with it talk of his mistake to concede a backbreaking third goal against Belgium in the USMNT's 4-1 Round of 16 loss this summer, that highest-profile mistake did not send him out of the picture in Pochettino's eyes.

Steven Goff from Yahoo Sports broke the news yesterday that Freese would be one of the 28 players on this first post-2026 World Cup USMNT roster. Freese will be there for the first United States training camp plus four friendlies played in what is now Pochettino's second World Cup cycle in charge, after the Argentine manager signed a new contract with US Soccer at the beginning of August.

Freese's inclusion was confirmed just this morning when US Soccer dropped its full roster, which came out in leaks and drips and drabs. Freese will be one of four goalkeepers called in, joining fellow World Cup veteran Chris Brady of Chicago Fire FC, plus uncapped players in Nashville SC's Brian Schwake and Diego Kochen of Lyngby in the Danish Superliga.

The whole of the roster reflects the mix in the goalkeeper group: There are 13 World Cup veterans with the USMNT this summer, plus 12 new, younger players getting their first senior call-ups and looking for opportunities to impress with the national team.

Cavan Sullivan, 16-year-old Philadelphia Union phenom, is the headline-grabbing call-up, but he's joined by other teenagers like the Red Bull New York duo of Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall. Three players in this week's Hudson River Derby at Yankee Stadium will go from that tense rivalry clash to joining up as teammates for national team camp.

USMNT roster, September and October 2026 camp

GOALKEEPERS (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire FC), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Diego Kochen (Lyngby Boldklub/DEN), Brian Schwake (Nashville SC)

DEFENDERS (10): George Campbell (West Bromwich Albion FC/ENG), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP), Peyton Miller (New England Revolution), Neil Pierre (Philadelphia Union), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO), Frankie Westfield (Philadelphia Union)

MIDFIELDERS (9): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth/ENG), Mathis Albert (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Sebastian Berhalter (Middlesbrough/ENG), Zavier Gozo (Crystal Palace/ENG), Adri Mehmeti (Red Bull New York), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA), Brooklyn Raines (New England Revolution), Gio Reyna (RC Strasbourg Alsace/FRA), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

FORWARDS (5): Cole Campbell (SV Elversberg/GER); Justin Ellis (Orlando City SC), Julian Hall (Red Bull New York), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union)

Freese is the only goalkeeper in the group with substantial national team experience, as the Fire's Chris Brady only got one appearance as a substitute in the next-to-last pre-World Cup friendly against Senegal, a match in which Freese did not play.

Freese and Brady are two of the 12 MLS players on this roster, with nine MLS players there trying to earn a first-ever USMNT appearance, including three members of the Philadelphia Union squad: Cavan Sullivan plus defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. When you add Freese and Celtic FC defender Auston Trusty (each former Philadelphia academy players) to that young Union trio, you get a pretty big presence from the state of Pennsylvania on this roster.

Union reunions aside, Freese will now be looking for his 20th cap under Pochettino, and he'll have four chances to get it or to go beyond it here in the earliest days of the 2030 cycle.

This is the first elongated FIFA international break since the sport's international organizing body decided to scrap the two separate early-fall international breaks, one in September then another one later in October, in favor of one big fat one that unfolds from late September through early October.

Two less-heralded but still solid opponents from South America, then the USMNT's two fiercest geographic rivals from across the country's southern and northern borders, should make this an entertaining and possibly enlightening international window as it pertains to the future of the USMNT roster.

Freese has serious work to do in the eyes of many USMNT observers, because so much was made over Freese's worst play of the World Cup against Belgium, and rightfully so. It dwarfed all else that he's done in a United States shirt to date, but Freese did also start in three important USMNT wins prior to that Belgium gaffe, and, leading up to the World Cup, played his way into being Pochettino's clearcut top keeper for the tournament.

Since the World Cup ended, Freese hasn't shown much sign of any lingering issues while back playing with his club. He's kept three clean sheets across all post-World Cup competitions and had some huge performances, like making a penalty-kick save against Carles Gil on the road against New England, or when he just made six saves, included vital early ones when the game was scoreless, in a much-needed shutout win on the road against Real Salt Lake. He's had some seriously sketchy moments, too, with two recent near-misses in terms of careless goals almost conceded due to miscommunications with two different NYCFC center-backs, Raul Gustavo vs Nashville and Thiago Martins vs New England.

Those isolated incidents aside, Freese still ranks extremely well among MLS goalkeepers over the full course of the 2026 season. The New York City netminder is 10th among MLS goalkeepers in goals prevented (+4.31), though that's behind USMNT rivals like Brian Schwake of Nashville, and even behind Matt Turner of the Revolution, who was not called into this camp by Pochettino despite being the only other goalkeeper to feature at this summer's World Cup.

Freese is also ranked sixth among MLS keepers in the number of saves he's made this season, is fifth in save percentage, and is ninth in goals against per-90 minutes, all according to Fbref.com's leaderboards. He will no doubt be missed by NYCFC during the scheduled MLS match away against Atlanta United FC on September 26, the same day the United States plays Peru.

He's in that kind of form, and he's at this point Pochettino's most trusted, experienced goalkeeper, so another USMNT call-up for Matt Freese should not come as too big of a surprise. Players like Schwake or young 20-year-old Diego Kochen might get the next opportunities to show Pochettino and his staff what they can do, but Freese remains in the mix and it's easy to expect him to get another chance during this four-game stretch to attempt to wipe away some of those bad Belgium memories.