The yr started for Matt Freese and Max Arfsten at U.S. nationwide group coaching camp in South Florida, two gamers largely unknown exterior Main League Soccer who had been invited to the annual winter meeting derided as “Camp Cupcake” by cynical followers.
Freese was a Harvard grad with one season as a full-time MLS starter, Arfsten a three-year professional who’d adopted the league’s developmental pathway.
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The 2026 World Cup was on the horizon, however for a lot of the fringe gamers known as into this January camp, the game’s quadrennial spectacle was mild years away.
By no means thoughts the World Cup; would Freese and Arfsten even put on a U.S. uniform once more?
Flip forward to the ultimate camp of the yr, this week in better Philadelphia forward of two friendlies. It’s a full-fledged worldwide window and, though a number of U.S. mainstays are absent for an array of causes, lots of Mauricio Pochettino’s regulars have reported.
However so too have Freese and Arfsten, who haven’t solely acquired constant call-ups, however turn out to be fixtures within the lineup.
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Arfsten, a 24-year-old wing again from the Columbus Crew, leads the nationwide group in begins this yr with 12. He’s tied for first in assists with 4 and is second in appearances with 14, one behind attacker Diego Luna, one other prospect from the MLS grind who debuted for the U.S. group in 2024.
Freese, New York Metropolis FC’s 27-year-old goalkeeper, is tied for second in U.S. begins with 11, regardless of not making his worldwide debut till June. Since that first look, he has began all however one match and 10 straight, rising to the highest of a seven-man depth chart to make six Gold Cup begins this summer season.
Matt Freese of New York Metropolis FC competes in opposition to Charlotte FC at Financial institution of America Stadium on Nov. 7, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photograph by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Pictures)
(Jacob Kupferman by way of Getty Pictures)
“After the primary [call-up], I form of thought it is by no means going to be this thrilling once more, however in some way, each time it is simply as thrilling. It is simply as large of an honor,” Freese stated this week. “Very grateful to get known as in a bunch this yr. … It has been an thrilling yr and a yr with numerous alternative and development, however there’s extra in my sights.”
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Freese appears sure to begin Saturday in opposition to Paraguay in Chester, Pennsylvania – 16 miles north of the place he attended highschool (Episcopal Academy) and in a stadium (Subaru Park) the place he started his MLS profession.
He’ll in all probability get the decision once more subsequent Tuesday in opposition to Uruguay in Tampa – the final of six fall friendlies which have helped Pochettino taper the participant pool. The U.S. group is not going to regroup once more till late March for the ultimate camp earlier than Pochettino proclaims his World Cup roster choices in Might.
Barring harm or a precipitous efficiency drop, Freese and Arfsten are on observe to make the 26-man squad. Past that, Freese is on tempo to begin within the World Cup. Matt Turner, the first starter since 2021, has been No. 2 on the listing since June however wasn’t known as into this week’s camp, handed over for Freese, Columbus’s Patrick Schulte, FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano and Italian-based Jonathan Klinsmann. (Of the latter three, solely Schulte, with three appearances, has performed for the U.S. group.)
Arfsten’s state of affairs is sort of completely different than Freese’s. He has stuffed the void left by Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, a sure-bet starter who has not performed for the nationwide group since injuring a knee a yr in the past. Robinson returned to U.S. camp final month however suffered a setback and stays sidelined for Premier League membership Fulham.
Max Arfsten (No. 27) of the Columbus Crew fights for the ball in opposition to Samuel Gidi of FC Cincinnati throughout an MLS playoff match at TQL Stadium on Nov. 8, 2025, in Cincinnati. (Photograph by Chris Carter/Getty Pictures)
(Chris Carter by way of Getty Pictures)
Pochettino doesn’t have a wealth of depth on the left facet – on this camp, John Tolkin is the pure backup – however may shift World Cup veteran Sergiño Dest from the correct or use versatile winger Tim Weah, who wasn’t known as on this week due to health issues following a thigh harm.
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Even when he doesn’t begin on the World Cup, Arfsten has gained invaluable worldwide expertise and turn out to be an possibility in Pochettino’s newly most well-liked system that options wing backs as a substitute of conventional fullbacks. (Arfsten is a wing again for Columbus.)
On the Florida camp, “I felt like I did every little thing I may in coaching to point out what I can do,” he stated. “After which all I actually needed was to do no matter I may on the membership degree to turn out to be concerned within the camps to return. That was actually my mentality.”
Arfsten excelled with the Crew this yr, showing in 37 matches throughout all competitions and posting seven targets and 10 assists – notable numbers for a participant coming ahead from a deep mendacity place. His eight regular-season assists had been tied for the group lead.
The calls from Pochettino continued. He began 5 of the six Gold Cup matches and scored in opposition to Costa Rica within the quarterfinals.
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“It is helped me turn out to be simply extra well-rounded as a participant,” Arfsten stated. “I have been a bit sharper in sure moments. Simply being concerned in these camps and having our teaching workers right here categorical perception in me and provides me recommendation on sure issues has positively helped me turn out to be extra assured and develop as a participant quite a bit.”
It was a gradual course of for Arfsten, whose first professional contract after two seasons at UC Davis got here with the San Jose Earthquakes’ developmental group within the third-division MLS Subsequent Professional. Unaffiliated with San Jose’s first group, he entered the 2023 MLS draft and was chosen No. 14 total by Columbus.
Freese left Harvard early to signal with the Philadelphia Union. After 13 regular-season begins over three seasons, he was traded to NYCFC. A backup position in 2023 gave technique to the beginning job in 2024 and ’25. Pochettino took discover.
“It has been fairly a final six months however to repeatedly get that chance from the teaching workers means a ton,” Freese stated. “Having that belief is admittedly necessary to me, and it permits me to play like myself and develop over these final 10-11 video games. … It is necessary to take any alternative – and each alternative – to proceed to develop.”
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Freese cited his work with U.S. goalkeepers coach Toni Jiménez, a 1992 Olympic gold medalist with Spain whose ties to Pochettino date again to 2009.
“We clearly keep in contact once we’re not in camp collectively,” Freese stated. “He had a very profitable enjoying profession earlier than his teaching profession and he is aware of the correct character you should carry, to be that rock on your group, to be that stability and to deal with robust moments, robust crowds, and in addition to deal with good moments and keep humble and work for the subsequent save. It’s been superb to work with him.”
Arfsten famous the strengthening chemistry among the many mixture of veterans and newcomers – and roster modifications from camp to camp – following the group’s rocky begin this yr.
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“An enormous quantity of us [has] performed collectively quite a bit now and have simply constructed that chemistry and have a greater understanding of what Coach desires us to do,” he stated.
Whereas the collective ambition is continuous to enhance earlier than subsequent summer season – the Individuals have received three straight in opposition to different World Cup-bound groups – people have their eye on a roster spot.
“All of us need to be there subsequent summer season, however the path to do this is to focus each single day in coaching in camp, in addition to along with your membership,” Freese stated. “Deal with coaching, deal with growth, deal with acting on matchdays. I prefer to put the summer season out of my thoughts, and each time once I get up and I am in camp, I need to present what I can do and impress.”