World Cup 2026 Soccer Matt Freese: How it went horribly wrong on embarrassing World Cup gaffe By Erich Richter Published July 7, 2026, 10:19 a.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on Google Among a host of errors Monday night, goalkeeper Matt Freese had the most glaring for the USMNT in their 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the Round of 16.
Team USA trailed 2-1 and enjoyed the better of the play to open the second half when disaster struck, with Freese embarrassingly misplaying a ball en route to allowing a layup open-net goal to put Belgium up two goals and destroy any momentum the Americans had.
“I’m obviously disappointed for my error in judgment,” Freese said. “I know the guys in front of me did everything they could today to get the win, and I’m so proud of them.
“I wish that moment was different and wish the result was different.”
The goalie left the box to play the ball early in the half, but his foot got stuck in the grass when he attempted to kick the ball and his second attempted instead bounced off De Ketelaere.
The ball went right to Beligum’s Hans Vanaken, who struck the ball into the open net for the 3-1 lead.
Freese said that Charles De Ketelaere, who had netted Belgium’s first two goals of the game, was so close to him that he expected contact, forcing him to make a wayward decision.
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“I felt [De Ketelaere] so close, I thought he was going to kick my leg, and so I tried to get out of it,” Freese said.
Freese missing the ball with his leg reminded Giants fans of kicker Younghoe Koo’s gaffe during the last NFL season, when he also whiffed on a field goal attempt in a viral moment.
“This hurts,” Freese, the goalkeeper New York City FC of the MLS, said. “This moment hurts more than probably any other moment in my life. But I know that this is a step in a longer journey, and I know that there’s big things to come from this federation and from this group.”
