The United States squeezed past Costa Rica and into the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals, needing a Herculean performance from goalkeeper Matt Freese in a penalty-kick shootout following an exciting – and worring – 2-2 draw in regulation.
Ben Wright
Matt Freese - 9.0
Matt Freese may have just grabbed the starting No. 1 job for the foreseeable future. The New York City FC shot stopper was spectacular in the shootout. Not only did he make a staggering three saves, but he dived the right way on every shot he faced, getting fingertips to all of them.
During the 90 minutes, he was solid when called on and once again showed great composure with his feet. He also seemingly learned his lesson from his mistake against Haiti, picking the right times to simply clear the ball. He commanded his area well, too, coming off his line to smother the ball on more than one occasion.
With the rest of the goalkeeper pool appearing to regress, Freese is pulling ahead of the pack.
Stock: To the moon
Matt Freese was a brick wall for the @USMNT 🧱🧤
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 30, 2025
Watch every save he made during the penalty shootout ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/ZcqkmgghQ4
Max Arfsten - 6.0
This match encapsulated the full Max Arfsten experience. The Columbus Crew winger was heavily involved going forward, setting up Diego Luna's opener and grabbing his first international goal with a quality late run into the box and composed finish.
At the other end, though, his limitations as a left back flared up for all to see. He gave away an exceedingly poor penalty kick to gift Costa Rica an early lead and was danced past for their second goal. This tournament is making it increasingly clear that despite his genuine quality going forward, it doesn't outweigh the real drawbacks to playing him out of position at the international level.
Stock: Unchanged
Richards
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 30, 2025
Tillman
Agyemang
Tillman
Arfsten
GOALpic.twitter.com/9iH41cRc9X
Tim Ream - 6.5
The Charlotte FC defender didn't particularly stand out one way or the other, generally a good thing for a center back. He was caught in no man's land a bit for Costa Rica's equalizer, but overall wasn't culpable for the US's defensive struggles.
Stock: Unchanged
Chris Richards - 7.5
The Crystal Palace defender has been a standout all tournament and continues to cement his spot ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He was good with the ball at his feet, playing a few choice entry passes into the feet of Patrick Agyemang, and came ever so close to scoring a set piece goal.
Stock: Up
Alex Freeman - 6.5
The young Orlando City defender got into much more advanced roles, but committed a sloppy and needless turnover near the end of regulation that almost gave Costa Rica a late winner. Stepped up in the shootout, though, and slotted hom his penalty calmly.
Stock: Unchanged
Luca de la Torre - 6.0
The San Diego FC midfielder was typically reliable on the ball, but his biggest contribution was turning into a human traffic cone for Costa Rica's equalizer. It was simply unacceptable defending from him and Arfsten to allow the Ticos back into the match.
Stock: Down
Tyler Adams - 6.5
Tyler Adams mostly did Tyler Adams stuff against Costa Rica. He won the ball back consistently and tried to progress the ball, but the final ball was too often lacking and the game needed more from him. To his credit, he buried the US's first kick of the shootout.
Stock: Unchanged
Sebastian Berhalter - 7.5
With his father watching from a suite, the Vancouver Whitecaps man put in an all-around shift. He wasn't afraid to get into the mix with Costa Rica and showed plenty of grit in the tackle. He also showed consistent quality on the ball, curling in some really dangerous set pieces and progressing the ball well in the final third.
The main blemish on his showing was his spot kick, skying his attempt over the bar to make proceedings even more nervy. Overall, a showing that keeps him in the conversation for 2026 for the moment.
Stock: Up
Diego Luna - 7.5
Diego Luna got his first international goal, albeit with the help of a juicy deflection. After a nervy start to the match, he really grew into the game and was able to find half-spaces in the Costa Rican backline after the halftime break.
Stock: Up
Malik Tillman - 7.5
This was a match of high highs and low lows for Malik Tillman. He earned a first-half penalty kick (and probably should have drawn a red card, too), but smacked the spot kick off the post. He set up Arfsten's goal with a beautifully-weighted pass into the box and rattled the bar with a rocket late in the second half. He also fell asleep a bit for Alonso Martínez's equalizer, failing to track his run.
After all that, though, he stepped up in the shootout and buried his shot. He seems set for a spot on the 2026 World Cup roster.
Stock: Unchanged
Patrick Agyemang - 7.0
This was the best showing for the Charlotte FC attacker so far this tournament. Against a combative and confrontational Costa Rica backline, Patrick Agyemang did so much dirty work and showed off his elite physical tools, commanding their attention and pulling open space for his teammates. With defenders draped on him every time he received a ball, his touch was clean and his combination play was effective. Did a great job to drop the ball off to Tillman in the run up to Arfsten's goal.
Stock: Up
Substitutes
Damion Downs - N/A
The young attacker made a few decent runs into the final third but couldn't find an end product in the run of play. He stepped up for the final kick of the shootout, though, and smashed it home.
Stock: Unchanged
Jack McGlynn - N/A
Hardly got involved after coming on for the final seven minutes.
Stock: Unchanged
John Tolkin - N/A
The former New York Red Bull came on for the last few minutes. He put in a crunching tackle within seconds of getting on the pitch, and saw his penalty saved in the shootout.
Stock: Unchanged
Brian White - N/A
Came on in stoppage time and flashed a header wide.
Stock: Unchanged
Manager
Mauricio Pochettino - 6.0
The manager did just enough to get the USMNT through, and to their credit they were significantly better for a good 20-minute stretch immediately after halftime. He finally allowed Alex Freeman to get further forward, which was a plus. However, his continued usage of Max Arfsten as a left back is confusing. It puts the player in a suboptimal position, as well as making the entire backline less stable. The left back pool is thin, sure, but there must be more practical options than an out-of-position Arfsten.
Stock: Unchanged
