Matt Freese Shines as USMNT Edge Costa Rica in Penalty Drama to Reach Semifinals
What an absolutely wild ride in Minneapolis as the U.S. Men’s National Team narrowly escaped Costa Rica to move on to the Gold Cup semifinals. Honestly, this one had everything — penalties, comebacks, heartbreaks, and a new hero in goalkeeper Matt Freese. If you're just tuning in, you missed a thriller that had fans on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
The U.S. went behind early after Max Arfsten’s clumsy challenge gifted Costa Rica a penalty just 12 minutes in. Francisco Calvo made no mistake from the spot, and things looked bleak for the U.S. for the first half-hour. They couldn't get a shot on target, and frankly, they looked flat. Then came a spark — Malik Tillman linked up with Patrick Agyemang and drew a penalty after some clever footwork, only to miss the spot kick himself.
But here’s where things started to turn. Arfsten, making up for earlier mistakes, helped set up Diego Luna for the equalizer. It took a deflection, but it counted all the same. After the break, Arfsten completed his redemption arc by slotting home the go-ahead goal following a slick move orchestrated by Tillman, who was clearly eager to make up for the missed penalty.
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Just when it seemed like the U.S. had control, Costa Rica hit back. Carlos Mora burst through the U.S. defense and forced a save from Freese, which bounced right to Alonso MartÃnez. He buried it, tying the match at 2-2 in the 71st minute. From then on, it was end-to-end chaos. Costa Rica nearly stole it late when MartÃnez rattled the post in the 85th, but neither side could find a winner before the final whistle.
Then came the penalty shootout. High drama. Freese, still relatively new as the U.S. number one, stepped up in the biggest way possible. He made three massive saves, including a crucial one right down the middle from Francisco Calvo and a final one against Andy Rojas. While John Tolkin couldn’t convert his penalty, Damion Downs sealed the deal after Freese's heroics, slotting home the winning penalty and sending the U.S. into wild celebration.
Freese said afterward that he’d been studying penalties all week on the flight and in training, and boy did it show. “Penalties are my thing,” he said, cool as ever. And tonight, they truly were.
With this rollercoaster win, the U.S. now advances to face Guatemala in the semifinals. The path to the final is still alive — and if Freese keeps playing like this, the dream might just become reality.
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