Alex Freeman was named to the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, becoming the youngest player on the squad at 21 and one of only eight Major League Soccer players chosen. He is the first player in Orlando City SC history to move from the academy through MLS NEXT Pro and MLS before reaching the World Cup stage.
The call-up caps a sharp rise for Freeman, who debuted for the national team in 2025 and has made 13 appearances for the United States. He scored two goals in a 5-1 friendly win over Uruguay on Nov. 18, a performance that underscored why he kept climbing the depth chart as the roster took shape.
Freeman’s path also carries a club-side footnote that now matters on the World Cup stage. Orlando City transferred him to Villarreal CF in January for a reportedly near-$7 million fee, and he was out of contract after the 2026 MLS season. Even so, his Orlando record remained part of the argument for his inclusion: 42 appearances across all competitions, six goals and seven assists, according to the club.
For Orlando, the selection adds another line to a season that already brought Freeman MLS All-Star honors in 2025, MLS Best XI recognition and the first MLS Young Player of the Year award in club history. Those are the kinds of markers that turned him from a development project into a national-team regular, and now into a World Cup player before age 22.
The roster itself tells part of the story. With only eight MLS players named, the United States selected its fewest since 2010, a sign of how much of the pool now sits in Europe and how unusual Freeman’s route has been. He was listed on the roster as a Villarreal player, reflecting the January move that took him out of Orlando’s system and into a new setting just months before the tournament.
The United States opens Group D play against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglewood, California, then faces Australia in Seattle before returning to Inglewood to play Turkey on June 26. Freeman enters that stretch as one of the roster’s youngest players, but also as one of the few with a direct line from a club academy to the sport’s biggest stage.
