U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Team USA got off to a strong start in the 2026 World Cup with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the opening game of group-stage play Friday. And in the process, U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese did something no one had ever done before — becoming the first active Major League Soccer goalie to make a World Cup start for the U.S.
It was the latest attribute in what’s been a gradual climb to the top levels of his profession for the New York City FC goalkeeper.
“It was a great night for sure,” Freese told MLSsoccer.com postgame in Los Angeles. “I had a great view for what was happening in front of me. The guys up top and in the midfield, everyone was vibing well and connecting really well. I think it was super evident everyone was on the same page, just the flicks and the one-touch, two-touch passing was crisp and really good. So a great first step.”
Not only was it his first World Cup start, but with the U.S. serving as a tournament co-host, he got to do it in front of American fans — a sold out crowd of 70,492 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
“I always try to keep my eyes down, so that I don’t get amazed too much and out of my own focus, thinking about a crowd and stuff like that,” he told MLSsoccer.com. “But today, walking out onto the field — I had gotten some texts from a few mentors that said, ‘Make sure you take a moment to take it in,’ because they know I otherwise I wouldn’t. And so I did. Just looked up, and it was a breathtaking sight.”
The 27-year-old Freese studied economics and computer science at Harvard before turning pro following his sophomore season to sign with the Philadelphia Union — his hometown team — ahead of the 2019 MLS season. There, he started 13 matches over four years before being traded to NYCFC ahead of the 2023 season. He won the starting job a year later and emerged as one of the league’s rising goalkeeping stars.
He earned his first invitation to a national team camp in January 2025, where he was behind Matt Turner, the 2022 World Cup starter, as well as others. Manager Mauricio Pochettino selected Freese for the 2025 Gold Cup, and over the past year he’s started 15 of 18 matches, with Turner handling the other three.
Freese was only tested with two shots on goal the whole game against Paraguay, and allowed just the one second-half goal. He’ll look to keep the momentum heading into the U.S. men’s national team’s second group-stage game, Friday against Australia, which defeated Turkiye 2-0 on Saturday.
“I like to take everything very steady, and never get too high, never get too low,” Freese told MLSsoccer.com. “But from a group perspective, I think a focus is on cohesion and the chemistry that we’re building, and I think you could see that on the field tonight.”
A big part of what helps keep Freese grounded is his faith in God.
“I always remind myself God’s got me,” he said recently on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast. “God’s looking over me and watching over me. … And I think this is a very big way faith has motivated me as well as guided my career and my soccer journey — is the fact that God’s given me so many opportunities in general. But to focus on soccer, God’s given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career.”
Faith has been a part of his life as long as he can remember. As a child, he attended Catholic mass in his youth soccer team’s jersey because he had games right afterward. As an adult, that rhythm of going to mass and doing Bible studies never really stopped.
But he can look back to earlier in his career to see where his faith began to blossom and become as strong as it is now.
He didn’t see the field much during his first season with the Philadelphia Union in 2019, then the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the entire 2020 season. He used that time as an opportunity to rediscover his love for soccer and made a plan to come out of the pandemic a better player.
“I’ve learned so much about failure, so much about success, so much about teamwork and selflessness, and a will to compete and a will to suffer,” Freese told Sports Spectrum. “And I think all the failures, successes — everything I just mentioned — that’s been created by God. And so in that way, it’s indirectly teaching me about so many things off the field and I’m super grateful for that.”
Others have seen the growth as well, including Andy Young, who serves as the team chaplain for both the Union and the USMNT.
“I’ve seen his identity become more deeply rooted in who he is as a son of God rather than simply as a soccer player,” Young told Sports Spectrum for a Summer 2026 magazine feature on Freese. “Out of that, he’s developed a genuine desire to bless others, to be a light, and to share the message of Jesus with the people around him.”
Freese participates in Bible studies with both his club and national teammates and said despite being a busy athlete, he knows how important it is to prioritize his time in Scripture. This year, he’s been going through the Bible in a Year plan with Father Mike Schmitz.
“There’s just this kind of automatic connection that you make when you talk about deep subjects like faith and the Bible on a weekly basis with a teammate,” Freese told Sports Spectrum. “You’re going to trust him a little bit more on the field, or at the very least you’re going to care more about them. You’re going to be very invested in their success.
“I’m invested in all of my teammates’ success, but there’s a little bit that just kind of happens subconsciously when you make that deeper connection through faith.”
The U.S. and Australia kick off at 3 p.m. ET Friday in Seattle on FOX.
From left: Brazil's Alisson, Belgium's Jérémy Doku, USA's Christian Pulisic, Mexico's Santiago Giménez, England's Bukayo Saka. (AP Photos)
For the first time since 1994, the men’s FIFA World Cup is in North America. The 48-team tournament kicks off Thursday in Mexico City and ends on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Players from around the world will be giving glory to God as they participate. Here are 11 Christ-followers to keep an eye on as they take the field to represent their countries.
Alisson Becker, Brazil A two-time Premier League champion with Liverpool, Alisson has established himself as one of the world’s premier goalkeepers over the past decade. He has been the starter in net for Brazil at the past two World Cups and is projected to be the No. 1 choice again. The 33-year-old won multiple Goalkeeper of the Year awards in 2019 and has openly shared about his faith throughout his career. “As I got older, and I experienced more of life — both joy and pain — I realised that God is closer than you can ever imagine,” Alisson wrote last year in a piece for The Players’ Tribune.
Jérémy Doku, Belgium Doku is electric with the ball at his feet, and Belgium will be trying to get it to the 24-year-old as much as possible. He produced eight goals and 12 assists for Manchester City across all competitions this season, helping the team win the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup. But every time he takes the field, his ultimate goal is to glorify the Lord. “On the pitch, I have His presence with me. That’s the difference. I’m just happy that now I can just deliver the way I want to play without any fear or doubt or anything,” Doku told NBC Sports in November.
Eberechi Eze, England After getting his first major international tournament experience at Euro 2024, Eze is hoping to play a larger role for the Three Lions this summer. He scored seven goals for Premier League champions Arsenal in his debut season with the club, appearing in 32 league games. As Eze’s star continues to rise, he remains grounded in his faith. “That faith is a foundation, it’s a pillar for me in my life, of course because of my Christian background and how I’ve grown up. For me, that’s just an anchor of how I live my life. I see everything through the eyes of faith,” he told Sky Sports in May.
Matt Freese, U.S.A. All signs point to Freese being the starting goalie for the U.S. He played every minute of last summer’s Gold Cup and has started eight of the team’s last 10 games. At the club level, he led NYCFC to the Eastern Conference Final last season. Freese draws confidence from knowing he is a child of God. “God’s given me so many opportunities within this game and within my career,” he said during a recent appearance on Sports Spectrum’s “What’s Up” podcast. “I still have a role to play in that. I still have to do my part and take that opportunity and do something with it.”
Cody Gakpo, Netherlands In his last two major tournaments (2022 World Cup and Euro 2024), Cody Gakpo has found the back of the net six times and assisted on another goal. The 27-year-old Liverpool winger scored in all three group-stage games in Qatar 2022 and will lead the Dutch attack again in North America, as he leans on his relationship with the Lord. “Faith gives me peace,” Gakpo told NRC in 2022. “And strength when I need it. I often read the Bible before I go to sleep. It is a kind of love letter that tells us how we should treat each other.”
Santiago Giménez, Mexico Giménez made his national team debut in 2021 at the age of 20 and started every game at the 2024 Copa América. He had a 23-goal season for Dutch club Feyenoord in 2023-24, which eventually led to him joining Italian powerhouse AC Milan. His faith is the source of the passion that he plays with. “I only ask Him to light up my spirit. It’s just that He lets me be the fighter that I was, that He lets me be that child who had fun before,” Giménez told SempreMilan last year. “Simply, it’s the passion that I have for football, that He reawakens it in me, because when you do things with passion, they turn out well.”
Kenji Gorré, Curaçao Curaçao are in the World Cup for the first time, and Gorré’s goal contributions are a big part of the reason why. The 31-year-old was involved in a team-high six goals (three goals and three assists) during qualifying. As he steps onto the world stage, Gorré is giving the glory to the Lord. “God really does make the impossible possible. … That’s why the God that we serve is alive,” he said in a soon-to-be-released interview with Sports Spectrum. “The God that we serve does want to make your dreams come true and He is with you in your journey.”
Maxence Lacroix, France Lacroix has become a key player for Premier League side Crystal Palace, helping the club win the FA Cup in 2025 and the UEFA Conference League in 2026. His performances earned him a national team debut in March and a spot on an extremely competitive French World Cup roster. He has not been shy about thanking God for the success he’s experienced. “Win titles. Win games. This is very important for a player to win, but look after God first and He will give you what your heart desires,” Lacroix told the Professional Footballers’ Association in 2024.
Mark McKenzie, U.S.A. A product of the famed Philadelphia Union academy, McKenzie just completed his second season in France with Toulouse. He has made 60 Ligue 1 appearances for the club and played 29 times for the U.S. His faith in God has played an important role throughout his career, he shared in a recent interview with Sports Spectrum. “Every day that goes by is a day where I have to look up and say, ‘Thank You, Lord, for seeing me through this,'” he said.
Christian Pulisic, U.S.A. Pulisic is the face of the U.S. men’s national team and its fifth all-time leading scorer with 33 goals at just 27 years old. The AC Milan winger scored the crucial goal against Iran that sent the U.S. to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup. He has publicly discussed the role faith plays in his life on multiple occasions. “I’ve had to continue to prove myself over and over again,” Pulisic said at the end of a 2021 postgame interview, via CBS. “But, as always, I reach out to God and He gives me strength. With that behind me, nothing can stop me, really.”
Bukayo Saka, England Saka netted three goals at the last World Cup and is a central figure in the England squad that reached the Euro 2020 (played in 2021) and Euro 2024 Finals. He just won the Premier League title with his boyhood club, Arsenal, and started in the Champions League Final against PSG. At the 2022 World Cup, he talked about the peace he finds in the Lord. “It’s really important to obviously have the presence of God in me all the time, and it gives me more confidence that God’s plan is perfect so I can go on the pitch and know that God has my back,” he said in a pregame press conference.
THIS IS THE SPORTS SPECTRUM PODCAST HOSTED BY MATT FORTE, FEATURING MARK MCKENZIE
Mark McKenzie is a defender with Toulouse in France’s top league, and a member of the U.S. men’s national team preparing for the 2026 World Cup. He played college soccer at Wake Forest in 2017, and then turned pro, signing with the Philadelphia Union of MLS in 2018.
Today on the podcast, Mark McKenzie shares his God-story, takes us inside his preparation for the FIFA World Cup, and talks about what it means to represent the U.S. in the biggest soccer tournament in the world. He also shares how soccer became his sport of choice and why he places his identity in Jesus Christ.
