{"id":1516928,"date":"2026-06-20T20:15:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T01:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1516928"},"modified":"2026-06-20T20:15:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T01:15:01","slug":"alex-freeman-21-year-old-son-of-nfl-standout-antonio-freeman-scores-for-us-in-world-cup-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1516928","title":{"rendered":"Alex Freeman, 21-year-old son of NFL standout Antonio Freeman, scores for US in World Cup win"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 Alex Freeman may not have one-upped his famous father yet, but he could be on his way.<\/p>\n<p>The son of Super Bowl champion wide receiver Antonio Freeman scored on a header for the United States in its 2-0 World Cup win over Australia on Friday. It was the third international goal for Freeman, the Americans\u2019 youngest starter at age 21.<\/p>\n<p>With the U.S. leading 1-0 in the 43rd minute, Antonee Robinson sent a free kick to Sergi\u00f1o Dest, who fired a shot from just outside the penalty area. The ball deflected off an Australian defender and high into the air, and Freeman leaped \u2014 high-pointing the ball, in NFL terms \u2014 and headed it past the outstretched arm of goalkeeper Patrick Beach and into the net.<\/p>\n<p>A replay review for offside delayed Freeman\u2019s celebration, but the goal was confirmed, and Lumen Field shook as Freeman ran to a corner of the field, surrounded by jubilant teammates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe deserves it,\u201d U.S. defender Chris Richards said. \u201cHe\u2019s had a great tournament so far and a great progression throughout the last year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Freeman called it \u201ca full-circle family moment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, it just shows how great the family tree is,\u201d he said. \u201cHe can be great but I can be great in my own way as well. I think that just shows how amazing it is to have a dad who\u2019s successful and that can mentor me to be able to be ready for moments like these.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Antonio Freeman played nine NFL seasons, mostly with the Green Bay Packers as a favorite target of quarterback Brett Favre. They won the Super Bowl together after the 1996 season, with Freeman hauling in an 81-yard touchdown pass from Favre that gave the Packers the lead for good against the New England Patriots.<\/p>\n<p>Antonio Freeman was one of the pioneers of the Packers\u2019 signature celebration, the Lambeau Leap. Now his son has a signature jump of his own.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Freeman spent much of the last two years vying for a spot on the U.S. roster. He was a starter for Orlando City of Major League Soccer, but had to battle with more experienced defenders to get selected. A few months before the World Cup, he gambled on himself.<\/p>\n<p>In January, Freeman accepted a move to Villarreal of La Liga, accepting a smaller role than what he enjoyed with Orlando.<\/p>\n<p>Two months earlier, Freeman impressed U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino in his 13th international appearance, scoring two goals against Uruguay in a 5-1 victory on Nov. 18.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s so humble. He wants to learn. He always listens,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cHe\u2019s a player that you really enjoy being with him. Not only coaching, but being with him. He\u2019s a lovely guy, and he\u2019s an amazing player.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Freeman made an immediate impact in the World Cup, playing all 90 minutes in the U.S. opener against Paraguay. He assisted on Gio Reyna\u2019s extra-time goal in the 4-1 victory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs long as he continues to develop and he\u2019s able to show he\u2019s doing it on the big stage,\u201d striker Folarin Balogun said, \u201cI think he\u2019s going to have a bright future.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SEATTLE (AP) \u2014 Alex Freeman may not have one-upped his famous father yet, but he could be on his way. The son of Super Bowl champion wide receiver Antonio Freeman scored on a header for the United States in its 2-0 World Cup win over Australia on Friday. It was the third international goal for &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=1516928\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Alex Freeman, 21-year-old son of NFL standout Antonio Freeman, scores for US in World Cup win<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1452],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1516928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports-news"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":true,"date":"2026-06-22 20:13:43","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[0],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1516928"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1516929,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1516928\/revisions\/1516929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1516928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1516928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1516928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}