Getty
Who is Matt Freese? The US goalkeeper became an instant World Cup hero after making a spectacular save against Belgium in the knockout decider.
Belgium broke the game against the United States in the ninth minute on Monday when Charles De Ketelaar converted from close range to seal a scoreless deadlock in the last 16 of the World Cup at Lumen Field.
The goal came despite an electric start from goalkeeper Matt Freese, whose save from Timothy Castagne’s rocket in the first minute made it briefly the story of the match.
Freese stopped Castagne’s long-range attempt with a full-stretch save that had the Lumen Field crowd on its feet before the first water break. He then crossed into his own box around the seventh minute, looking every bit the winning goalkeeper who came to Seattle in US World Cup history.
Matt Freeze couldn’t prevent Belgium from breaking through
Belgium responded in the ninth minute. Dodi Lukebakio held the ball at the top of the penalty area and sent it past the on-lap Castagne, whose low cross towards Youri Tielemans was mistimed by the midfielder. The Red Devils passed the ball back to De Ketelaar, who fired the shot from point-blank range, according to ESPN’s coverage of the game at Lumen Field.
Freeze had no chance to score. Several defenders stood in the box as Belgium worked through the sequence and immediate social media reactions described the markings as disorganized in the moments after the ball hit the net. As a result of the breakdown, the goalkeeper was left without cover and was unable to react to the point-blank shot.
US defense exposed
The concession followed a familiar scenario for the Belgian team, according to a Yahoo Sports report, which trailed Senegal in the round of 16 before an extra-time penalty saved its tournament. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, who scored both goals against Belgium in their 2014 round-of-16 demolition of the United States, remain central figures in a Red Devils team that has now scored in the first of back-to-back knockout matches, although neither was available for Monday’s game.
That 2014 defeat, a 2-1 overtime defeat memorable for goaltender Tim Howard’s 16-save performance, still hangs over that rivalry. The Americans arrived for Monday’s rematch with their first knockout win since 2002, a victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina that ended a 24-year drought without a World Cup knockout match win.
The Harvard Journey Behind Freese’s World Cup Rescue
Freeze, 27, a product of the Philadelphia Union academy, began working in the United States a year after making his senior debut. He earned a start in the opening match of the tournament against Paraguay in June, becoming the first home-grown Union player to feature in a World Cup match.
“I dream about this opportunity, you work for this opportunity, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Freese said, according to American football.
His path took him through Harvard, where he studied economics and wrote an undergraduate research project on penalties before leaving school early to sign with FSU in 2018 and earn his degree online in 2022. He comes from a family of decorated scientists, led by his late father, neurosurgeon and gene therapy researcher Dr. Andrew Freese.
Traded to New York City FC in 2023, Freeze was the club’s 2024 MVP thanks to his shot-stopping instincts, which saw him make three penalty saves against Costa Rica in last year’s CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN WANKIN is an award-winning journalist covering MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, boxing, golf and Olympic sports for Heavy.com. He has twice won New England Newspaper and Press Association awards for sports reporting. He was a sports editor and writer for the Daily Yomiuri newspaper in Tokyo, Japan, covering the Olympics, professional baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin