United States men’s national team and New York City FC goalkeeper Matt Freese said he felt devastated following the 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final, before insisting the team will only use the result as motivation when heading into preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
“I was devastated. It was a massive opportunity for the group and an opportunity to make a statement,” Freese told ESPN. “And perhaps we made some statements along the way, but again, the ultimate goal was to win the final and win the trophy, and we fell short of that.
“It’s something that I know all of us will wish we had another shot at and hopefully we do have another shot at it at some point. But also it adds fuel to the fire and it keeps you hungry.”
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The USMNT emerged in first place from the group stage after defeating Saudi Arabia, Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti, before going on to triumph over Costa Rica and Guatemala to reach the coveted final against Mexico. Though the United States earned the early lead in the fourth minute with a Chris Richards goal, the team ultimately fell to their Concacaf rival due to efforts from Raúl Jiménez and Edson Álvarez.
The USMNT entered the tournament on a four-game losing streak and with criticism from the fanbase over an inexperienced squad missing several senior players due to fatigue, injury and Club World Cup commitments.
But Freese maintained each player saw the competition as a chance to impress head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
“Many of us viewed it as an opportunity, an opportunity to get minutes to show the coaching staff what we can do,” said Freese. “But to be honest, for the most part, we purposefully really just focused on ourselves, focused on the group that we had in the locker room and in the hotels.
“We didn’t really pay too much attention to the outside noise that was going on, particularly at the beginning of the tournament.”
Freese started in goal for all six matches of the Gold Cup, replacing long-time USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner in the starting lineup. The 26-year-old entered the tournament with just one appearance for the United States, making his debut for the senior team days prior on June 2 in a friendly against Turkey.
Now, leading up to the 2026 World Cup, Freese said he has been told by Pochettino that he must maintain a consistent level in order to compete for that starting role next summer.
“Obviously, I spoke with [the coaching staff] and they said it was a big step for me,” Freese said. “I obviously got an opportunity and I wanted to make the most of it and make them proud and be myself in there.
“They thought it was a big step, but they also said that that is now the minimum standard for me and I need to continue to build upon that foundation that I set this summer.”
Freese, who has spent his whole career in MLS after coming through the ranks at the Philadelphia Union, also stressed that regular-season MLS action prepares players for the demands of a tournament due to the travel and congested schedule, giving teams just a couple of days to plan.
“There’s always the question of MLS versus other leagues, but I think it’s definitely important to mention that the MLS is definitely a very competitive league with quality players,” he said. “Obviously you’re playing a tough schedule, traveling all around the country, and two, three games a week.
“You have periods of time where it’s three games within six days. You’re traveling thousands of miles across that. So these types of challenges really help you prepare for a short tournament where there’s a lot of games and a limited amount of days and a lot of travel.”
Freese boasts 62 MLS games for NYCFC, managing 17 clean sheets across two-and-a-half seasons.
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