Matt Freese got another United States men's national team call-up, this time for the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Nations League, a two-leg series with Haiti that features both matches played on US soil.
The 25-player squad includes Freese and two other goalkeepers, Brian Schwake of Nashville SC and Diego Kochen of Lyngby in Denmark. All three keepers were also called up by Mauricio Pochettino for the first post-2026 World Cup camp, which featured four friendlies, all ending as wins for the USMNT.
Right back into it in Red White & Blue. 🇺🇸
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) November 4, 2026
Mauricio Pochettino has called in 25 players for our November camp and pair of @CNationsLeague quarterfinal matches against Haiti!#USMNT x @ouraring pic.twitter.com/qwZu0R9J23
The question heading into this Nations League camp, which unlike the last camp features two matches that are actually meaningful: Has Freese really and fully been replaced as the USMNT's top choice in net?
To many outsiders, it seems like an open-and-shut case. The conventional wisdom among many followers of the USMNT is that Freese played his way out of the top spot on the goalkeeper depth chart because of how his World Cup ended, and thus he shouldn't be in the "starting goalkeeper" conversation as the 2030 World Cup cycle begins.
That viewpoint does not seem to be shared by Mauricio Pochettino. Freese is still the most experienced goalkeeper called up by Pochettino and his coaching staff, even after he barely played across the last four United States friendlies played between late September and early October. Freese played the first half of the USMNT's first post-World Cup friendly, then didn't appear again, with the minutes instead spread among Chris Brady, Kochen, and Schwake.
Andrew Leigh
Brady didn't get called up at all, meaning he seems to have done the least to impress Pochettino and Co., be it during the October camp, or be it during the last stages of the MLS season. Kochen and Schwake looked good for the USMNT and haven't seen their form noticeably dip at club level, so they're back, now making it a three-player race for meaningful Nations League minutes.
The Nations League roster isn't as youth-laden as the squad Pochettino assembled for the four friendlies that came before it, so there might be less interest in experimenting or in testing out new players. More USMNT veterans (Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie) return to the fold for these games, though they're still joined by young talents only getting their first few caps.
In mixing experience with youth and the last generation with the next generation, one question before Pochettino now is how he approaches the goalkeeper position. Does he turn back once more to his World Cup starter in Freese, or does he continue to integrate whoever of Schwake or Kochen he views as the next younger keeper up?
Freese, for his part, hasn't been in the best form post-World Cup. He made an absolutely brutal error trying to pass out of the back in New York City FC's crushing 2-1 loss away to Chicago Fire FC, a loss they earned despite having a 1-0 lead and an 11v10 advantage after an early Fire red card. He also got some criticism for his lack of reaction, and lack of attempt to make a save, when LAFC's Leo Walta banged in a free kick from distance in a 1-1 draw at Citi Field in mid-October.
Yet Freese is still in the mix with the USMNT, and it's not a guarantee he's only in this camp to be the experienced backup goalkeeper involved in training but then watching from the sideline during the pair of matches.
Pochettino still rates Freese, but now it depends on how the USMNT coach views Freese's two closest competitors at the position.
If Schwake or Kochen impressed enough in the previous USMNT camp and Pochettino is convinced one is the future at the position, then the matches against Haiti — meaningful but not of the highest degree of difficulty, given they're being played in the United States against a decent but non-Mexico, non-Canada Concacaf foe — could be a perfect next test for whichever keeper is deemed next up to hold that No 1 role.
If Pochettino remains unconvinced by his two less experienced goalkeepers, though, then there's a chance we see Freese starting once more.
It's one of the bigger lineup calls Pochettino will have to make for the two Haiti matches, though it's also hard to make a strong case against starting Nashville's Schwake.
Schwake has outperformed Freese and pretty much every other goalkeeper (save for arguably New England Revolution starter Matt Turner, not called up for a second straight camp) in Major League Soccer this season and he’s only 25, a few years younger than Freese.
Schwake looked fine in his first USMNT minutes and is a more senior choice than the 20-year-old Kochen, even if Kochen has a shinier pedigree, coming out of FC Barcelona's esteemed La Masia academy.
Competition for minutes is present all over this USMNT roster, and goalkeeper is no exception. Freese has experience on his side, but he's not performed at such a high level post-World Cup to continue to make the most convincing case to remain the starter.
We'll now have to wait until Saturday, November 14 at the Nu Stadium in Miami, Fl., to see how Pochettino sizes up Freese and his two competitors. For now, Freese gets yet another chance with the USMNT, but without the firmest hold on minutes or status as the top choice between the sticks.
