With two comfortable wins and Group D already clinched, the United States is playing well enough on the World Cup stage and under Mauricio Pochettino to silence many of the doubts about the country's ability to compete at the highest level.
A relatively simple afternoon for Matt Freese and the victorious United States, while Aiden O'Neill and Australia had a tougher time in the midfield in the 2-0 USMNT win in Seattle.
American pundits have looked down on the Socceroos since the World Cup draw, but USMNT and Australia players haven't engaged, instead anticipating an even, tough match when the sides meet in Seattle.
The importance of that 4-1 USMNT win over Paraguay in Los Angeles, what we make of the rumor linking Christian Pulisic with interest from City Football Group, and the good and bad of fan travel to Metlife Stadium for the World Cup.
The United States stacked up a bunch of World Cup firsts while winning their tournament opener 4-1 over Paraguay, with NYCFC's Matt Freese starting in goal and making some history of his own.
Reviewing the United States performance against Germany and previewing their World Cup expectations and their group-stage opener against Paraguay, plus discussion of the Dutch national team practicing at NYCFC's training facility.
The result was a 2-1 Germany win, but the United States looked solid after falling behind early, got a world-class goal from Antonee Robinson, and learned some important things about the goalkeeper and center-back positions.
Mauricio Pochettino says he hasn't picked a starting goalkeeper, but Matt Turner and Chris Brady splitting minutes in the 3-2 United States win over Senegal makes them seem like Freese's backups heading into the World Cup.
"I'm not going to think about the emotion; I'm going to be focused on winning," Freese said as he shared his reactions to making the United States World Cup squad.
Revisiting some of Matt Freese's standout games for club and country that felt like significant steps on the 27-year-old goalkeeper's path to the United States World Cup roster.
Catching up with the former New York City FC Homegrown and youngest non-German player to reach 150 Bundesliga appearances as he prepares for his second World Cup.
"The team is all in it for the same reason, and that's to go as far as possible," said USMNT defender Miles Robinson at the World Cup roster reveal event in Manhattan. More reactions from Pier 17 featuring Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Sebastian Berhalter, and Ricardo Pepi.
United States coach Mauricio Pochettino stoked controversy around how he communicated his roster decisions to his players, from emails to those rejected, to a group WhatsApp message for those who made the cut.
While Freese has started 14 of the last 16 United States matches, he's had a mixed start to the 2026 season while his main competitor for the starting role, Matt Turner, has played like one of the top goalkeepers in MLS.
