Matt Freese will be with the United States men's national team this June.
The New York City FC goalkeeper is called up to the 27-player training camp squad Mauricio Pochettino assembled ahead of the USMNT's friendlies on June 7 against Turkiye in East Hartford, Connecticut, and on June 10 against Switzerland in Nashville, Tennessee. Freese is one of 16 players called in from Major League Soccer, and it's the NYCFC goalkeeper's second senior national team call-up, though he's still waiting for his first USMNT appearance.
This is not, officially, the USMNT's Concacaf Gold Cup roster. That squad is limited to 26 players, so someone will have to drop off – and Pochettino has named four goalkeepers out of these 27 players, so it might be still unsettled which three keepers will be active for the Gold Cup games when the tournament kicks off on June 14.
The New York City FC goalkeeper appeared earlier this week on the USMNT's 60-player preliminary roster for the Gold Cup and made this first, but not final, cut. This June opportunity follows up on the January call Freese received from Mauricio Pochettino, though Freese didn't play in either of the USMNT's friendlies against Venezuela and Costa Rica held in the first month of 2025.
This June training camp starts on June 2, with those two pre-Gold Cup friendlies to follow on June 7 and June 10. The USMNT plays three definite Gold Cup games, on Sunday, June 15, vs Trinidad and Tobago in San Jose, CA; on Thursday, June 19, vs Saudi Arabia in Austin, TX; and on Sunday, June 22, vs Haiti in Dallas, TX. If the USMNT advances from their group and makes a run, it could take the calendar into July, as the Gold Cup Final is scheduled for the night of Sunday, July 6 at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
New York City FC has games scheduled on June 12 at home against Atlanta United FC, then on the road at CF Montréal on June 28, and back home against Toronto FC on July 3 – Freese might miss all those, should he be with the USMNT for any deep runs made in the Gold Cup.
Freese remains in form
June USMNT match particulars now covered, it's important to note that Freese is fully deserving of this call-up.
Freese has been excellent again in MLS play in 2025, keeping six clean sheets this season, second-most in the league, while sitting up among the league leaders at goalkeeper in statistical categories like saves (47, fifth) and goals against per 90 minutes (1.00, fourth).
Freese's good work in goal yet again in 2025 follows up on his elite 2024 season. Freese finished 2024 third among all goalkeepers in saves, making 119 in 34 games per FBRef.com, and his 75.2% save percentage placed him fourth.
The 26-year-old New York City FC keeper missed out on any potential USMNT chances during his 2024 breakout, and didn't even get the recognition of being among the three nominees for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year – but those previous snubs recede from memory a bit as Freese gets this June USMNT call-up.
Freese spoke to Hudson River Blue about his potential USMNT call-up following New York City FC's win over the Red Bulls on May 17, saying in part "I realy hope I'm included, I'm really confident that I'm able to play at that level, confident that I'm in that group."
Following 2-0 win over the Red Bulls I asked Matt Freese if he’s confident he’ll be on the #USMNT Gold Cup roster when it comes out next week + if impressing the national team has been on his mind lately “I’m hopeful that I’ll be included, I’m really confident I can play at that level…”
— Andrew Leigh (@andrewkleigh.bsky.social) May 17, 2025 at 8:44 PM
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USMNT keeper uncertainty
The goalkeeper position is an unsettled one for the USMNT at the moment.
Jeff Carlisle of ESPN just reported that Pochettino is open to giving another non-Matt Turner goalkeeper playing time for the USMNT due to Turner's limited recent involvement at the club level with Crystal Palace FC. Turner is a part of this 27-player June roster, but his national team manager looks to be sending a message by calling in three other keepers and commenting on Turner's lack of club playing time.
The American soccer hivemind was on Freese's side heading into this roster decision faced by Pochettino before his USMNT play two friendlies plus, at minimum, three group-stage matches in the Gold Cup. Tom Bogert included Freese in his projected USMNT roster for GiveMeSport, while Matt Doyle had Freese in his list of MLS-based players with "strong cases" for Gold Cup squad inclusion when he analyzed the player pool for MLSSoccer.com.
Freese got the call, but so too did Turner, along with the two MLS goalkeepers that had been with Freese during January camp, Zack Steffen of Colorado Rapids and Patrick Schulte of Columbus Crew. Steffen is enjoying a very strong season with Colorado in 2025 after having an up-and-down 2024, while Schulte, like Freese, is enjoying a second straight good year as the Crew's No 1 keeper.
It's hard to call out a clear and obvious first, best choice from the three MLS goalkeepers that are in camp to compete with Matt Turner. The goalkeeper uncertainty is just one of the many interesting storylines as the Gold Cup looms, bringing with it what will be the final competitive, meaningful games the USMNT plays before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
Pre-Gold Cup vibes: Dicey
Some very big USMNT names are missing from this 27-player roster called in for the June games, friendlies and otherwise.
A group of players are out due to the scheduling conflict of the FIFA Club World Cup – that means no Timothy Weah or Weston McKennie of Juventus in Italy, and no Gio Reyna of Borussia Dortmund in Germany, all Club World Cup participants.
Most significantly, there is no Christian Pulisic, an absence so eyebrow-raising that it warranted a separate statement from US Soccer's Sporting Director Matt Crocker in the official June roster announcement. Crocker said of Pulisic's absence, "Christian and his team approached the Federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break."
So Pulisic opts out of Gold Cup duty while also missing some of his usual teammates in Reyna, McKennie, and Weah. There are plenty of "top-choice" USMNT players on this roster, but it's also got the feel of a B Team, which happens often for Gold Cups.
This Gold Cup, though, takes on some extra importance because it follows shortly after the USMNT disastrously lost to Panama and Canada in back-to-back home matches to finish in 4th Place at the Concacaf Nations League, a tournament the Americans had won three straight times.
It's also the final "real" tune-up for the World Cup, so not seeing Pochettino work with some of his best-possible players has given this whole affair a slight negative edge to it before June training camp has even started.
For Matt Freese, the sketchy vibes around the national team won't matter as much as the huge opportunity laid out in front of him now that he's officially a part of this 27-player roster. You can see all the names called in by Pochettino below as the USMNT prepares for a pivotal month of matches this June.
USMNT June Training Camp Roster (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Matt Freese (New York City FC; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 30/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 51/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 33/2), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 0/0), DeJuan Jones (San Jose Earthquakes; 10/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 19/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 68/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 24/1), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 32/3),
MIDFIELDERS (10): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 47/8); Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 44/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 0/0), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 18/0), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC; 24/1), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 4/0), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo; 4/1), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union; 0/0); Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 17/0), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 1/0)
FORWARDS (5): Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC; 4/3), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 17/5); Damion Downs (FC Köln/GER; 0/0), Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 4/1), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 15/4)
