Matt Freese: Breakout World Cup star discusses surprising Man United link | OneFootball

Manchester United have many links to various national teams in the current World Cup.

Players and coaches

Many of Manchester United’s superstars are currently in action for their countries, such as Bruno Fernandes for Portugal and Matheus Cunha for Brazil.

Amad is also playing well for the Ivory Coast, and Noussair Mazraoui for Morocco.

Former coaches such as Carlos Queiroz are also making a name for themselves, as his plucky Ghana side drew 0-0 with England.

Team USA link

One of the host nation’s players, Matt Freese, also has a surprising link with the Red Devils.

The United States have impressed many at the World Cup, thrashing Paraguay 4-1 and then defeating Australia 2-0 to advance to the next stage.

They take on Turkey in the early hours of tomorrow morning, looking to top the group on nine points.

American sports network ESPN has highlighted that their starting keeper, Freese, was offered the chance to sign for Manchester United but instead chose to go to Harvard University, where he studied economics and computer science.

Speaking on his experience of playing for MLS side Philadelphia Union while studying at Harvard, he explained, “it really allowed me to thrive on the field.”

He continued, “there’s also a lot of research about the development of the brain in the classroom and how the neural pathways can allow you to learn more quickly on the field. Certainly, the problem-solving that I learned in the classroom and the social element, as well as from the emotional quotient perspective, working on group projects.”

Commenting on turning down Manchester United, he explained, “there were some tough conversations between me and my parents about this one. There was a clear path that I wanted to go on, but I had to respect what they wanted. They sacrificed so much for me, so I had to repay that and honour what they wanted and then, when the time was right, make my decision for myself.”

The 27-year-old finished his degree in 2022 and currently plays for New York City FC.

He has represented the United States national team on 17 occasions, making his debut just last year.

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