Goalkeeper Matt Freese admits he’s not quite gotten over the United States’ exit from the 2026 World Cup following a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the Round of 16.
“Big losses in tough moments are things you never really get over because they stay with you for the rest of your career,” Freese told The Associated Press ahead of the Major League Soccer All-Star Game coming up Wednesday in Charlotte. “They continue to motivate you for the rest of your career.”
Freese made a costly mistake in the loss when he rushed well out of his box to clear a long ball, then hesitated under pressure to kick it away. Belgium quickly converted the miscue into a goal to take a 3-1 lead in the 57th minute, all but sealing the Americans’ fate.
American football fans haven’t let Freese forget about it. In his first MLS match since the World Cup last week, the New York City FC goalkeeper was reportedly booed by fans every time he touched the ball during the game in Columbus, Ohio.
“It’s important to not let bad things define you, but I think it’s also important not to let good things define you either,” Freese said. “It’s important to be a consistent presence with consistent energy.”
Freese is one of four U.S. national team players selected to the MLS All-Star Game.
Another, veteran defender Tim Ream, openly acknowledges he doesn’t have a secret formula for what it’ll take for the Americans to one day reach the World Cup quarterfinals. He can only point to the one thing he knows that lends itself to success: hard work.
“You put your head down and do as much as you possibly can,” Ream said. “And, at some point you will break through that barrier. It just takes work, more work and more work. … Before you know it, you’re past that.” Ream said he believes better days are ahead despite the loss.
Wing-back Max Arfsten thinks the increased fan attention on the World Cup — with the majority of games played in the United States — will only serve to inspire more athletes in the country to take up the sport.
“The next step for us is to keep growing the sport,” Arfsten said. “The more people that are playing, the better players there will be. The more competitiveness, more players playing in the top leagues in Europe is important as well. I feel like all of those combined is going to lead to success.”
Ream added that when it comes to the World Cup, two things can be true: Players can be disappointed over the way they played and “crashed out” against Belgium, but also excited about what they accomplished in the earlier games.
“You can be proud of how much it galvanized the country, the people around it and the sport — and just how much fun it was,” Ream said.
Freese agrees. “It’s important for us to be aware of the positive outcomes that happened in the tournament as well as use that to inspire new generations to continue to get better — to get past that round of 16, to get past the quarterfinals and make it to the semis and the finals,” Freese said.
Published on Jul 28, 2026
