U.S. Men’s National Team Training Base (IRVINE, Calif.) — The last time the U.S. men’s national team faced Paraguay, things got spicy. American defender Alex Freeman and Paraguay captain Diego Gómez set off a scuffle that cleared the benches in stoppage time during a friendly last November. After a ball rolled out of bounds, both players raced to retrieve it. Possession belonged to the United States, but Gómez challenged Freeman, which is when both teams went at it for several tense minutes. In the end, Paraguay’s Omar Alderete was shown a red card while U.S. midfielder Christian Roldan was given a yellow. This time around, when the two nations face off in their World Cup opener on Friday at Los Angeles Stadium, cooler heads must prevail. And the 21-year-old Freeman, who will likely be making his World Cup debut as the youngest player on this U.S. roster, knows it. “We matched the intensity versus Paraguay in the last match, and now it’s, how can we be protagonists and strike first in this game as well?” Freeman said ahead of the team’s final training session Thursday morning. “How can we do that and be able to keep our heads on a swivel as well? “In these games, heads can go loose and you kind of get out of your head spaces and get stupid yellow or red cards. And I think that’s what we want to avoid. How can we keep the intensity, but how can we keep our head down?” That moment cemented Freeman’s status in the team, and he backed it up three days later by scoring a brace against Uruguay. Since making his senior debut against Türkiye on June 7, 2025, Freeman has become a fixture in the lineup, starting 12 of his 17 total appearances, including each of the last three matches. And if last week’s sendoff match vs. Germany was any indication — which it probably is — he will start for the U.S. at the World Cup. “He’s a beast,” Christian Pulisic told a group of reporters pitchside before he got warmed up for practice. “He’s really impressed me, especially in these first two games here in this camp [against Senegal and Germany]. I think he’s done such a good job, just his overall presence and what he brings. Not even just his physicality and athleticism, but he’s made some good forward progression with the ball and played good balls in behind and I feel like he seems a lot calmer. “And I like what I’ve seen.” Freeman admitted that he’ll have some pre-tournament jitters. But he wants to make them work in his favor. “How can I take those nerves and make it impact the way I play?” said Freeman, who joined La Liga side Villarreal from MLS club Orlando City earlier this year. “If you don’t have nerves, I feel like you’re not going to enjoy the moment to the fullest. For me, I want to put those nerves aside and just have the confidence to be able to play my game.” Freeman’s family is no stranger to major events and massive moments, though. His father, Antonio, is a Super Bowl champion wide receiver and Green Bay Packers Hall of Famer. He’ll be at Friday’s match and the younger Freeman already knows what his dad will tell him ahead of kickoff. “It’s knowing that you’ve gotten to this point, having confidence in yourself, betting on yourself and now, it’s a big opportunity to better yourself again,” Freeman said. “Now, what can you do with the chance, with the opportunity, to make an impact?” Freeman said his family is already in town, and he plans to hang with them on Thursday night to get his mind right for Friday. “My mom and dad and all my family are coming so I can hopefully spend a little time with them and thank them for everything,” Freeman said. “To have that calm moment with my family to prepare me for the game knowing that it’s gonna be a lot of pressure [is important]. They’re the kind of people who can calm the moment down and make it feel like everything is easy.”
