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Brad Friedel hailed the qualities of US shot-stopper Matt Freese and believes that the 2026 FIFA World Cup can provide a springboard for his career.
The 27-year-old looks set to become the first MLS goalkeeper to start for the United States at a tournament, with fellow shot-stoppers Matt Turner and Chris Brady also both playing for clubs on home soil.
Speaking exclusively to Freebets.com, Friedel has given his say on the American options between the sticks.
“I gave Matt Freese his start with the US under-19 national team,” Friedel says now. “He’s a really good athlete, a really good kid and is someone who’s calm and poised.
“This is his first foray into a major tournament – he never went through any Under-20 World Cups or Under-17 World Cups.
“Technically, he'll be very good. If he makes a mistake, that's the unknown – that's the unknown with all goalkeepers. I imagine that's also why Matt Turner is in the squad as well, because if you do need to make a change, you have an experienced guy there.
“And then they also brought Chris Brady into the squad, who probably has the best potential future of everyone – just 22 years of age and has played over 100 first-team professional games.
“But all of us, whether it was Tony Meola, myself, Kasey Keller, or Tim Howard – we all started at a tournament, we all had our first one. So maybe this is the tournament that really makes Matt Freese a world star."
It could be seen as an indictment of the current state of US goalkeeping that none of three shot-stoppers are playing their trade in Europe’s top-five leagues, but Friedel claimed that could also work in their favour.
“Personally speaking, I want our players to be playing at the highest possible levels at the peak of their careers,” he added.
“But it does say a lot about MLS also. All three goalkeepers are MLS goalkeepers. Of all the positions, being a goalkeeper – a lot of times a shot is a shot and a cross is a cross when it comes down to it – so they can continuously get better playing in MLS.
“The thing is, in MLS you don't have the pressure that you have at the European and South American clubs.
“But this isn't so much about pressure. This is probably a moment when it's good not to have that pressure on you, especially if it's your first foray into the tournament like it is for Freese."
USA have been placed in Group D at the finals, alongside Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, and Friedel was keen to temper any expectations concerning how far the co-hosts could go in the tournament.
"I'm really worried about Paraguay. Any team that qualifies from South America is good – to qualify out of South America is a battle, it's a war. So I think it's important to get off to a three-point start.
“If you get off to a loss, it's difficult to go through in a good position in the group, especially when you have a team like Turkey in it, who are a very good team.
“On Australia, I was not one of the people that was jumping up and down with joy that we got drawn against them. I think player for player we're better, but it's about attitude and what happens on the day, and Australia is going to be a really difficult game too.
“So I think success is getting to the knockout rounds and then seeing who you're drawn against. If you get drawn against a Spain or France or England or Germany or Belgium and you lose, that can happen."
The Stars and Stripes have an elite head coach in Mauricio Pochettino, and Friedel stressed he isn’t bothered by the constant ongoing speculation about where the Argentine could go next after links to the vacant AC Milan job.
“They're not educated on how Mauricio does his deals. Because Mauricio, at this stage, doesn't go to the meetings himself – he has a representative go. But every single coach in the entire world, whether they're in a job or out of a job, has their representatives going to meetings on potential jobs that might fit the overall project they want to do.
“I make absolutely nothing of it. In my mind, knowing how Mauricio works, he's completely focused on the World Cup. If the World Cup goes well, I could see him staying with the US. But when he took the job, he didn't say he was taking it and then wanted to do another four years – he was given the job to come in and be the head coach while the World Cup is in North America, and to do as good a job as possible for the success of the national team.
“What he does after honestly doesn't concern me one little bit. If he does really well and gets the team to the quarter-finals or semi-finals, I would love him to stay – but that still doesn't mean he's going to.”
