Matt Freese: USMNT criticism 'hurts my heart'
USMNT goalkeeper Matt Freese said he felt hurt by the backlash following the elimination from the 2026 World Cup after losing 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16.
https://t.co/cm4Kydcoqb
I’ll say it - I think it’s completely disingenuous to blacklist Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez from the HOF but trot them out for every big event to do the media. Either blacklist them or don’t
“I'm baffled by the talk about this pay-for-play is hurting the national team program. I don't agree with that. I think we have more quality players being developed in our country.”
Former USMNT coach Bruce Arena feels this World Cup was a success.
Speaking with Bob Bradley, Gregg Berhalter, and Rob Stone for Coaches’ Corner, Arena mentions that the USMNT are closing the gap and can win the World Cup one day 🗣️
“This World Cup is a major win for the sport in this country,” he said.
“We have more people that have followed the sport now and like the sport. I think we would have liked to see the U.S. go another round. But I think we're making progress.
“You know, I don't know how Bob and Greg feel about this, but I've been around this for a lot of years, and I see the game evolving tremendously in our country.
“Our players are being developed. We have more quality players. The league is getting better. And I think in time, we're going to be up there with the big boys.
“We're not there yet, but we're making tremendous progress. Just look about the quality we showed, obviously, in maybe not a strong group, but getting through that group and, then Bosnia.
“We showed that we're arguably among the top dozen countries in the world, maybe the top 16 countries in the world.
“And I think we can continue to advance. It's not going to be easy, but the league's getting better. More players are being developed.
“I'm baffled by the talk about this pay-for-play is hurting the national team program. I don't agree with that. I think we have more quality players being developed in our country.
“The league's getting better. We're closing the gap. And what we need to understand is this is the world's sport.
“This is not the NFL where you win the Seattle Seahawks are the world champions or the LA Dodgers are the world champions in baseball.
“This is truly the world's sport. And it's a heck of a lot more challenging, and we're making progress. And one day, I believe we're going to win a World Cup.
“France has developed one of the greatest basketball players in the world. If they can do that, we can develop great soccer players. It will happen one day.”
FIFA to break football's laws by having half-time break at World Cup final of up to 30mins to accommodate glitzy Super Bowl-style show.
ITV will cover half-time show in full and BBC expected to do so too. https://t.co/Ri0jKslpR1