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Alex Freeman
American soccer player (born 2004) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Alexander Michael Freeman (born August 9, 2004) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Orlando City and the United States national team.
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Youth career
Freeman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, but grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and attended American Heritage School in Plantation, Florida and played three seasons for Weston FC Academy before joining the Orlando City Academy in 2020.[3][2][4] Freeman had tried out for Inter Miami's academy earlier, but he didn't make the team. However, Freeman's coach at Weston FC, Javier Carrillo, convinced him to try out for Orlando City's academy, despite the distance from his home. Freeman's mother, Rochelle, hesitated allowing Freeman to attend Orlando City's academy due to the distance and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but allowed him to stay with another academy player's family.[5] Freeman celebrated his 16th birthday without his family for the first time after making the move to Orlando and said that it took a toll on him, but that "it was something that needed to happen".[6]
In 2021, he made 30 appearances for the under-17 team, scoring eight goals and providing 15 assists as Orlando City were crowned the inaugural MLS Next Cup U17 champions.[7]
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Club career
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Orlando City B
On March 26, 2022, Freeman made his first senior appearance when he started in a 2–0 victory over Chicago Fire II, the reserve's first MLS Next Pro match.[8] Freeman would finish the 2022 campaign with 19 appearances and 3 assists.[9]
On March 31, 2023, Freeman scored his first professional goals when he netted a brace in a 2–1 victory over new expansion side Huntsville City.[10] Freeman made his playoffs debut on October 1 when he came on as a 95th-minute substitute for Dominic Pereira in a 2–1 quarterfinals lost to Columbus Crew 2.[11] Freeman would finish the 2023 campaign with 25 appearances, 4 goals, and 3 assists.[9] On May 15, 2023, Freeman made his first double goal contribution when he made two assists in a 4–3 loss to Columbus Crew 2.[12]
On September 8, 2024, Freeman made his first triple goal contribution when he scored two goals and assisted in another in a 4–1 victory at Crown Legacy FC.[13] On September 25, Freeman was named MLS Next Pro Player of the Matchweek for contributing two assists in a 3–0 win over Chicago Fire II two days earlier, helping to clinch the playoffs.[14][15] Freeman's performances throughout the month of September also saw him voted MLS Next Pro Player of the Month for the first time.[16] On October 20, Freeman started his first playoffs game in a 1–1 draw at Chicago Fire II, which then went into a penalty kick shootout. Freeman took Orlando's first penalty and successfully converted it, but Orlando would go on to lose the penalty kick shootout 5–4.[17] Freeman finished the 2024 campaign with 26 appearances, 8 goals, and 9 assists, the most assists and total goal contributions on team.[9][18]
Orlando City
2022–2024: Time with the reserve team
On February 15, 2022, Orlando City signed Freeman to a four-year homegrown contract with an additional option year having spent preseason with the first-team, making him the club's 12th homegrown signing.[19]
On April 29, 2023, Freeman made his debut for the club when he came on as a 93rd-minute substitute for Michael Halliday in a 2–0 victory over LA Galaxy.[20]
On July 6, 2024, Freeman made his first goal contribution for the club after he came on as an 82nd-minute substitute for Kyle Smith against D.C. United. Freeman passed the ball to Ramiro Enrique from a redirected Nicolás Lodeiro free-kick, and Enrique scored to help the game end 5–0 in Orlando's favor.[21][22]
2025: Promotion to the first team
On March 1, 2025, Freeman made his first career start for the club in a match against Toronto FC, and in the 35th-minute through an assist from Kyle Smith, he scored his first goal for the club. Freeman's goal helped the match 4–2 in Orlando City's favor.[23] For his performance, Freeman was named to the bench of the Team of the Matchday for the first time in his career two days later.[24] On 22 March, Freeman assisted in Luis Muriel's opening goal in a 4–1 win over D.C. United and later he scored the third goal of the match when he headed a free kick from Martín Ojeda.[25] Freeman's performance would see him named to the starting Team of the Matchday for the first time in his career two days later.[26]
On June 25, Major League Soccer announced Freeman had been voted in to represent the league in the 2025 MLS All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars on July 23 at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.[27] Freeman's selection to the All-Star team made him the youngest player to ever be picked for the exhibition match.[28] On July 15, Freeman was selected to represent the league in the MLS All-Star Touch Challenge during the MLS All-Star Skills Challenge a day before the game.[29][30] Liga MX All-Stars defeated the MLS All-Stars in the All-Star Touch Challenge, but the MLS All-Stars won 4–2.[31] Freeman also participated alongside YouTube and Twitch star IShowSpeed in the Shooting and Passing challenges.[32] MLS All-Stars would also ultimately defeat the Liga MX All-Stars 3–1 in the All-Star Game with Freeman coming on as a 61st-minute substitute for Orlando City teammate Marco Pašalić.[33][34]
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International career
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Youth
In March 2021, Freeman was called up to a 28-player United States youth regional identification camp.[35]
On May 27, 2022, Freeman was called up by Marko Mitrović to the United States U19 squad alongside teammates Thomas Williams and Favian Loyola for friendly matches against the England U17 and Norway U19 the following month in Marbella, Spain.[36] Freeman started against England as the United States won 2–1.[37] Freeman started again as the United States faced Norway, defeating them 3–0.[38] On September 16, Freeman was again selected by Mitrović, this time for the friendly Slovenia Nations Cup tournament against Malta, Croatia, and Scotland.[39] On September 21, Freeman scored his first international goal, the final of a 5–0 rout of Malta.[40] The United States would go on to defeat Croatia 4–3 and Scotland 2–1 to win the tournament.[41][42]
On October 11, 2023, Freeman was selected by Michael Nsien alongside Williams to represent the United States U23 at the 2023 Pan American Games.[43] The United States conceded a late goal after Freeman was substituted off as they lost their opening match 1–0 against Brazil.[44] In the following match against Honduras, Freeman assisted Theodore Ku-DiPietro's winning goal to help end the game 2–1.[45] Freeman started again the following match as the United States defeated Colombia 2–0 in the final group stage match in order to advance to the knockouts.[46] However, the United States were eliminated by hosts, Chile, after conceding two unanswered goals.[47]
Senior
On May 22, 2025, Freeman was called up by United States national team coach Mauricio Pochettino for training camp in Chicago ahead of matches against Turkey and Switzerland.[48] Freeman later said that receiving the call-up was an "unexpected surprise", but that it was a result of the "the hard work I've been putting out the past 3–4 years" and that his father, Antonio Freeman, told him to "keep [his] head down".[49] On June 5, Freeman was selected for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup,[50] and two days later Freeman started against Turkey as they lost 2–1.[51] Ten days later, Freeman made his competitive debut for the national team when he started and played the full match of the United States' 5–0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in the first match of the group stage.[52][53] The United States advanced to the final of the tournament where they were defeated 2–1 by Mexico.[54] Freeman's start against Mexico made him the youngest player to make six consecutive starts for the national team during the tournament.[55] Freeman received another call-up on August 26 for friendly matches against South Korea and Japan on September 6 and 9 respectively.[56]
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Style of play
Freeman is both a playmaker and a goal-scoring threat from the fullback position who likes to provide a goal-scoring threat inside the penalty area.[6] Freeman uses his speed and height to be both an effective attacker as well as a imposing defender.[57]
Personal life
Freeman is the son of former professional football player Antonio Freeman, who played as a wide receiver and won Super Bowl XXXI with the Green Bay Packers in 1997.[58][5] Freeman's mother, Rochelle, is a Liverpool fan and jokingly calls Freeman her "little Trent Alexander-Arnold".[5]
Career statistics
Club
- As of August 27, 2025[59]
- Appearances in Leagues Cup
International
- As of match played July 6, 2025
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Honors
Orlando City
United States
- CONCACAF Gold Cup runner-up: 2025[54]
Individual
References
External links
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