Even casuals should know the names of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Sergiño Dest by now—but if “Alex Freeman” didn’t ring a bell before last Friday, you’d be forgiven. After all, the 21-year-old defender only made his U.S. Men’s National Team debut last June, just a few months after his first-ever pro start with Orlando City SC of MLS.
It’s been nothing but up ever since. Freeman started every match for the U.S. in the 2025 Gold Cup, and 16 out of 17 of the USMNT’s matches heading into the World Cup. Now, after shining in the USMNT’s 4-1 opening win against Paraguay, his place in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI seems secure.
So how did Freeman go from MLS prospect to European upstart to the USMNT’s youngest World Cup squad member? Well, this footballer’s life started as the child of another kind of footballer …
Wait, his dad is Green Bay Packers legend Antonio Freeman?
Growing up in Plantation, Florida, Alex harbored early dreams of making the NFL like his old man, who enjoyed a storied nine-year career, mostly catching passes from Brett Favre. But eventually the kid had to make a choice. "In my heart, I wanted to continue playing football,” Alex told ESPN, “but I knew that if I wanted to be the best, I had to limit my area of concentration and I had to limit it all to soccer at that point."
Antonio, of course, couldn’t be prouder of what his son has accomplished in his chosen sport, even if pop’s still a novice. "My dad's learning soccer as I'm playing, and so his conversations to me are not more about soccer, it's more about mindset, it's more about determination and that kind of stuff,” Alex said. (However, Alex’s mom Rochelle is a big Liverpool fan who calls Alex "Little Trent," after ex-Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.)
How did Alex become an integral part of the USMNT?
Well, to us it might feel like Freeman emerged “out of nowhere,” but like most footballing origin stories, the hard work was done in the shadows. At 16, Freeman left his family in Fort Lauderdale to sign as a homegrown talent for Orlando City. For his first few years in Orlando, Freeman played most of his football as part of the club’s B team, only making a handful of appearances with the senior squad as a late-match sub. It was in 2025 that Freeman had his breakthrough, scoring in his first start and eventually racking up 6 goals and 3 assists over 29 matches.
That success earned Freeman his first national-team call-up last June, and also caught the eye of teams overseas. In January 2026, Villarreal (Spain) bought Freeman for a reported $4 million (plus another $3 million in add-ons). So, like many of his high-profile USMNT teammates, Freeman is now a member of a top-flight European club team.
What position does Freeman play, anyway?
Part of what makes Freeman such an X-factor is his versatility, which is especially useful in Pochettino’s system. Nominally a right-back, Freeman has been playing more of a hybrid defending role for the USMNT, covering for RB Dest when needed but also galloping forward to support the attack. Suffice to say, the man covers a lot of ground. Against Paraguay, he won nine of 14 duels (per SofaScore) and earned an assist on Gio Reyna’s stunning goal at the death. Freeman has impressed with not only his athletic ability, but also his vision and football IQ. He may not have a traditional position with this U.S. team, but he surely knows how to play it.
What does the future have in store?
Provided the rest of his World Cup is as good as his first game—and even if it’s not—Freeman will enter the next club season as a player on the rise. Playing for Villarreal, a team which finished only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid in the La Liga table, is multiple steps above Orlando City. In his first half-season with the Spanish club, Freeman had to earn his way into the lineup, starting three of the team’s final six games. Next season, you’ll likely see Freeman gallivanting up the right flank in the Champions League. So it might be a good time to pull the trigger on that striped USA kit with #16 on it.
