Alex Freeman's Rise Highlights MLS's New Pipeline to Europe | OneFootball

Alex Freeman recorded an assist against Paraguay and a header goal against Australia during the USMNT's 2026 World Cup group stage, becoming one of the tournament's breakout defenders. Fourteen months earlier, he was fighting to be Orlando City's backup right back.

The New York Post's exclusive on Freeman's "new normal" frames a personal adjustment story for the son of the well-known NFL star who's now carving a legacy of his own on the football (soccer) pitch.

The more useful read for a US soccer audience is structural: Freeman's timeline is now a template for how MLS talent reaches the World Cup stage without the traditional multi-year European apprenticeship.

Alex Freeman during the 2026 World Cup

In the USMNT's first match against Paraguay, Freeman had an assist, and in the second match against Australia, he headed in his first-ever World Cup goal. Both moments came less than five months after right back Alex Freeman transferred to Spain's Villarreal from Major League Soccer's Orlando City on January 30, 2026.

The move itself was built on a single MLS season. He had two substitute MLS appearances in 2024 totaling 10 minutes, then took over as starting right back last season, scoring six goals for Orlando. The Villarreal deal was reportedly worth a potential fee of at least $7 million, plus a sell-on clause for Orlando.

Why did Freeman happen the way it did?

Freeman's game translated because his production wasn't cosmetic. At Orlando City, he produced 6 goals and 4 assists from right back, created 7 big chances and laid on 46 key passes, while winning 178 of 310 ground duels (around 57 percent) and 27 of 42 attempted tackles. That combination — a fullback who defends duels at a starter-level rate while also creating chances — is exactly the profile European clubs scout out of MLS now, rather than treating the league as a retirement circuit.

Pochettino's staff had already built Freeman into the system before the transfer closed. After earning his first senior cap in June, Freeman continually delivered for head coach Mauricio Pochettino, starting every match during the USMNT's runner-up finish at the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The Villarreal move raises the ceiling for Freeman but didn't necessarily introduce him to a new tactical framework — playing in Spain simply raised the level of opponent he faced weekly, which is why his World Cup performances look seamless rather than improvised.

Who will rise to the top next?

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Pochettino's list for his first post-2026 World Cup call-up included other promising youth in Cavan Sullivan and Xavier Gozo, but neither can be a two-way player like Freeman, so the pressure on each to exceed expectations is greater for skill players.

Payton Miller of the Revolution could be that player this cycle. The defender scored 7 goals and assisted 4 in 24 games for New England. That kind of two-way production will draw eyes in Europe, especially after a USMNT call-up.

Quick Youth Ascendancy Becoming Norm in MLS

Freeman's route — homegrown signing, one breakout MLS season, mid-season European transfer, immediate World Cup rotation spot — compresses a path that used to take three or four years into roughly eighteen months. For MLS academies, that's a recruiting argument: a single standout season at the right position can now be enough to trigger an eight-figure move and a World Cup roster spot in the same calendar year.

It also changes how US Soccer and MLS clubs should value first-year starters. Freeman made 29 regular-season appearances, scoring six goals and providing three assists from right back, as Orlando finished ninth in the Eastern Conference and qualified for the wild card round.

A modest team finish didn't cap his individual valuation — his data profile did. Expect scouting departments at other MLS clubs to lean harder into duel-win rates and box touches for defenders, since that's the evidence that got Freeman noticed before the highlight reel did.