SEATTLE – Hours before a noon kickoff on a picture-perfect summertime day in Seattle, U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino had news to break in the routine team meeting. Christian Pulisic would not be available to start in the team's 2-0 win over Australia, a calf issue ruling him out of a clash he had worked all week to take part in despite training on his own. It was not a cause for concern, though.
"To play with Pepi today wasn't a shock," Folarin Balogun said post-match, of the man who started in place of the injured star. "It wasn't like a Plan B because CP was out. It didn't feel like that to me. It just felt like another solution to win the game."
Pepi's moment finally comes
Four years after receiving an unwanted phone call from then-coach Gregg Berhalter that he would not be making the trip to Qatar -- and then promptly hanging up on him -- Pepi was not only on a World Cup team but was poised to make his first start at the tournament, one that took place on home soil. Balogun's perspective has some credence, too. Pochettino's starters had been fairly well-defined heading into the World Cup, but if anyone outside of the group was pushing for a spot in the lineup, it was Pepi. The forward kept the vibes high as the U.S. team slumped their way to a lopsided loss to Belgium in March, but pressed and got the assist to Patrick Agyemang's goal right at the end. He played a big role in the build-up of two goals in their 3-2 win over Senegal last month. If anyone was poised to work his way into that core group, it was Pepi.
The strategy was ultimately a smart one. Australia played with five defenders, and having two strikers to oppose them meant one was there to keep the opponents busy leaving the other one free to do whatever else was needed.
"I felt like we gave them a hard time," Pepi said. "I felt like it was a difficult game, to be able to get a lot of shots, a lot of spaces in between, so they really closed down the middle, but at the end of the day, we got the win, we got the goals and we did our job...it's always good to be able to have those two strikers. If a defender is marking me, then the other one is always free, so it's a good thing that we were able to play like this and it just shows what the team has."
Pepi allowed the USMNT to show a different side of their attacking prowess, Pochettino doing well in recent weeks to take advantage of the group's deep pool of talent in those positions. The player had an unglamorous showing, but he did exactly what was needed of him, pressing until he came off in the 74th minute for Sebastian Berhalter as the coach decided to hold things down with a range of defensive substitutions. He seized the opportunity in front of him and looks to be an important option for the U.S. team going forward, especially now that their trip to the knockout rounds is confirmed. It was already clear before the USMNT's World Cup got started, but even more so after Friday's win over Australia, they are certainly not a one-note team that unravels when Plan A goes out the window.
"When we start[ed] the game, did you see how Pepi and Balo go to press," Pochettino said. " When that happens, the will to go, to do and to make the effort, to try [to] knock them … They don't play long balls. They play passes, long passes and I think we forced them to play long and because in the way that their players are so good, the way that we worked, putting pressure starting with our two strikers and behind – Weston [McKennie], Sergino [Dest], Malik [Tillman], Tyler [Adams[, Antonee [Robinson[ – I think it was a very good job and made [it] easy for our defensive line to control and after have the capacity to play."
Freeman shoots to stardom
Pepi was hardly the only one to benefit from the opportunity in front of him. Alex Freeman was also one of the standouts on Friday, especially when realizing the difference a year can make. Freeman had zero caps in June 2025 but now has two World Cup starts under his belt and a goal, the second in Friday's win in Seattle. Coupled with a wintertime move from Orlando City in MLS to Spain's Villarreal, Freeman has been on a quick upward trajectory since Pochettino first called him in a year ago.
"I want to give the credit to Orlando the player is doing a fantastic job. The evolution is massive. He's [such] a humble guy. He has an amazing profile. He wants to learn. He always listens. He's a player that you really, being with, not only coaching … he's a lovely guy and an amazing player. For me, [he] has the potential to be one of the best players in his position [in] the world.
"And Oscar Pareja and the coaching staff because when we arrived here and to build our relationship with all the clubs in MLS, I think [about] how important it is now to enjoy the player that we really only saw a few clips [of] but to trust in the player and to give the possibility to come with us," Pochettino said, referencing Freeman's former coach at Orlando."
Freeman has enjoyed the quick transition from little-known MLS prospect to World Cup goalscorer, unfazed by the tasks in front of him.
"I think it's hard for me to take it all in, but I think it's good also to go through these challenges at such a fast pace at a young age," Freeman said. "I feel like for me, it's just going to make me an even better player to be able to adjust to different atmospheres and be able to adjust to different circumstances, and now that I'm here, it's just: How can I give 100% and do it for my country and how can I make everyone proud?"
In some ways he takes after his father Antonio, a former NFL player.
"I think for me that's kind of a full circle family moment," he said. "I think for me, it just shows how great the family tree is and I think that just shows how he can be great, but I can be great in my own way as well, and I think that just shows how amazing it is to have a dad who's successful and that can mentor me to be able to be ready for moments like these."
He remains the poster child for Pochettino's experimentation process, the coach calling in upwards of 60 players before settling on his 26 members of the World Cup team. Two games in, the tournament has offered validation of many sorts to Pochettino and his processes, something Freeman acknowledged after a celebratory afternoon.
"I think that just shows how [deep] our roster is, how [many] good players we have," he said. "On the field, whenever they get a chance and in fact, that just shows for us – never not be ready because you don't know when your chance is going to get called up and be able to play and Pepi did that today and he was able to contribute in a very, very amazing way today and I think that just shows that [you need to] be ready and be able to contribute any way you can."
