Matt Freese received another call-up from the United States men's national team, as the New York City FC goalkeeper is in the 27-player squad named by Mauricio Pochettino for the team's upcoming pre-FIFA World Cup friendlies against Belgium and Portugal to be played in Atlanta, Georgia.
The USMNT play Belgium on Saturday, March 28 at 3:30 pm ET, then face Portugal on Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 pm ET, with both matches played on the new natural-grass playing surface installed inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in advance of the World Cup.
Freese has started in goal for 12 consecutive United States matches dating back to the start of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup.
Across those matches with Freese installed as the starter, the United States holds a record of 8W-2D-2L with a +12 goal difference, reaching the Gold Cup final and closing the calendar year of 2025 on a five-match unbeaten run, all while playing friendlies against other nations already qualified for this summer's World Cup.
That positive stretch of performances includes Freese's breakout with the USMNT, when he almost single-handedly won the penalty shootout against Costa Rica and his club teammate, Alonso Martínez, in the Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Based on his recent form for club and country, Freese enters March USMNT camp with the upper hand in the race to start for the United States when World Cup play begins against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles, California.
Still, four more friendlies stand between Freese and the World Cup, and his biggest rival for the starting goalkeeper role is back in camp this March.
Pochettino recalled New England Revolution and USMNT veteran Matt Turner to once again compete with Freese, so the games against elite European opposition in Belgium and Portugal could hold heavy significance in the ongoing race for that starting GK spot.
Turner was the last goalkeeper to get a look under Pochettino before Freese took control of the role, with the Revs keeper starting and looking shaky during the 4-0 loss the United States suffered against Switzerland last June.
While the competition is ongoing for the starting job, Freese looks, at minimum, like a set-in-stone member of the USMNT World Cup squad. The 27-year-old from Wayne, Pennsylvania, has represented the USMNT in lots of pre-World Cup media availabilities, with the NYCFC goalkeeper just this week appearing live on NBC's Today Show to help US Soccer unveil the new kits the men will wear during the World Cup: Welcome back, Where's Waldo Kit!
Early in 2026, Freese ranks sixth among MLS goalkeepers with a 84.6% save percentage, and his 0.75 goals against per-90 minutes ranks seventh-best among MLS keepers, according to FBRef's leaderboards. That comes after a 2025 season in which Freese was a finalist for MLS Goalkeeper of the Year and for US Soccer's Senior Male Player of the Year award, and a season in which he finished ninth for most saves made and 10th for most clean sheets kept among MLS keepers.
His exploits with NYCFC got him into the USMNT squad, and got him a lucrative contract extension that made him one of the highest-paid members of the NYCFC squad and one of the highest-paid goalkeepers in the league.
With momentum and recent performance all on Freese's side, now he'll try to use two friendlies in March – and possibly two more to come in May and early June, against Senegal and Germany, respectively – to nail down his spot in the United States World Cup Starting XI.
Matthew Mangam
