New faces and new energy define Mauricio Pochettino's first post-World Cup USMNT

Freeman knows what it's like to walk into an intimidating environment: he received his first cap in June of 2025 against a stellar Turkiye side that beat his USMNT 2-1 in Hartford, CT. "My first cap was very difficult," he admitted. "You’re going to have to go through adversity and go through points where you don’t feel comfortable. It’s how can you react? And how can you get through that and be able to go in and find a point where you feel calm?"

Freeman's rapid rise through the USMNT ranks makes him an excellent candidate for a leadership role in this young squad. He wasn't on the team's radar when Pochettino took the reins in 2024 but played his way into a starting position at the World Cup in two years flat. This USMNT's 13 uncapped players will no doubt be looking to him for advice on how to pull off the same ascent — and thankfully, Freeman appears ready to give it.

Collaboration and competition in one

Mentor-mentee relationships are all well and good, but this is the USMNT: Only the best will stick around. The mentors know that the fresh faces will challenge them for spots on the roster; the mentees know that the veterans will give them every ounce of pushback they can. Pochettino's test during these first post-World Cup matches will be to manage the opposing forces of competition and collaboration that develop within this camp. So far, he seems to feel it's going well.

"The mix between senior players and young has become very organic and natural now after a few days," Pochettino said. "It’s a group of players that you don't feel that someone is scoring for the first time or having 100 caps, you know? I think that is the important thing.

"Of course the younger show tremendous respect to the senior players, they are humble enough to listen, but also the senior players, they are so good in the way that they treat the young team because they also show respect to them. The respect is reciprocal."

The best national teams are built on this kind of generational exchange; just look to Italy's European Championship-winning 2021 squad or France's World Cup-winning 2018 squad for proof. If the USMNT can master it — and indeed, master it in a fresh, natural, exciting way that is full of energy — it could be onto something great.

The USMNT will return to action on Saturday, Sep. 26 against Peru in Orlando, FL. 

All quotes gathered firsthand from the USMNT news conference unless otherwise noted.