Criticize Matt Freese, but the cruel comments on social media are unwarranted | OneFootball

On Monday night, the United States men's national team was knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the worst way possible. The team as a whole played poorly and struggled defensively. New York City FC's Matt Freese allowed four goals. Notably, the first two were impossible for him to save since the goals were caused by defensive errors by the backline.

However, the goalkeeper has received awful comments on social media. Some of them are absolutely cruel, and others cannot even be repeated here. Sure, criticism toward him and the entire USMNT is fine and warranted. However, the cruel comments and hate are unwarranted.

Criticizing NYCFC's Matt Freese is fine

Regarding the criticism, there is no argument that Freese and his teammates failed the US fans. They should have at least put up a fight against Belgium. Instead, they did not play at the level that was seen in other matches with the starting lineup, especially in the World Cup. It is amazing that this was the same team that held on with ten men in the Round of 32 match.

Defensively, the USMNT acted like their second-string backline, which has not been strong this past season. Truly, only the starters have proven that they deserve to play. At least, that was the case until Monday night.

And it was that backline that arguably was at fault for the first two goals, for Freese could not stop the ball based on the crosses that went in front of him. However, the NYCFC keeper is 100% at fault for the third goal. He came out of his box and failed to clear the ball. Subsequently, Belgium scored on an empty net.

With the fourth goal, Chris Richards was responsible for giving up the ball, but Freese should have gotten a hand on the ball to make the save. In a way, it was mixed regarding who was at fault.

Stop being cruel towards Matt Freese

So again, criticize him and the other players. It is fine to say that he was not good enough, but also include the entire defense. It is okay to say that the USMNT goalkeeper made one of the worst mistakes that he could make at the World Cup. It is okay to be emotional or upset and say that Freese killed the momentum or ability for the Stars and Stripes to attempt a comeback. That can be argued, though, for the players still did not find that second goal.

But do not be cruel. If one looks at social media, especially under the trend "Freese" on X, then they will see some not-so-kind words towards Freese. There are also cruel posts toward others.

Using curse words to describe the performance, saying that he should go __ himself, saying things like he should be deported or that he is a terrorist, name-calling, calling him the r-word or f-word, saying that he should never play professionally again, and so much more are all unwarranted comments. One does not have to be cruel to get a point across.

Then, NYCFC posted how they are proud of Freese. Such a post makes sense, for the goalkeeper plays for the club, and excluding the game against Belgium, he had a decent World Cup. After all, there were quite a few people who praised him after the Round of 32 match and then hated on him after the Round of 16 loss.

Anyway, it was a post with good intentions. But some people were upset that he was being supported by the team. If one looks at the comments, then they will see them telling the club that they should not be supporting him after a terrible performance, asking whether they are proud of him, saying how he ruined soccer, saying that he is trash, and more unkind comments that are similar to what one can see regarding the regular posts on X.

Again, one can say that he was not great, but hating on his club for showing support is a little insane. The cruel words also highlight that there are some USMNT fans who are not kind. Yes, this loss was hard to watch, and the fans have a right to be upset. But guess what? The players are upset too, and are likely angry at themselves. For the love of the game, be kind. They are human. Treat one another with respect and kindness.

At this point, NYCFC fans know they will have to lift Freese up. And, this has been mentioned before, but if NYCFC does not have a sports psychologist, despite the fact that the team needs one, then hopefully, they will find someone to help Freese move on.