"Guys used to call me and say, 'When are you gonna let Alex come out for the football team?'" That's Antonio Freeman — former Green Bay Packers wide receiver — recounting the pressure on his son to follow him onto the gridiron. The calls came every year. He had to keep turning them down.
Good thing he did. Alex Freeman just scored at a World Cup at 21.
The USMNT right back's goal against Australia in group play has accelerated an already rapid rise — from Orlando City academy product to MLS Young Player of the Year to the youngest player on the United States' World Cup roster. The journey started with a choice most kids in his position would have found genuinely difficult to make.
"I had my doubts when I first chose soccer," Freeman told ESPN. "In my heart, I wanted to continue playing football, but I knew that if I wanted to be the best, I had to limit my area of concentration."
The school that built an NFL pipeline
Freeman attended American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida — and the football program there is not a casual obstacle he sidestepped. It's one of the most productive NFL factories in the country. Nine American Heritage alumni were on active NFL rosters for Week 1 of the 2025 season, tied second in the nation with St. Thomas Aquinas, behind only IMG Academy's 17.
The current crop includes Patrick Surtain II (Denver Broncos), Brian Burns (New York Giants), Oronde Gadsden II (LA Chargers), James Houston (Dallas Cowboys), and five others. Surtain alone is one of the best cornerbacks in the league. This wasn't a mediocre program Freeman walked away from — it was a legitimate path to Sundays in the NFL.
Oronde Gadsden Sr. — whose own son became a star receiver — called Antonio Freeman every year trying to get Alex into the slot. "Eventually, I had to tell them: 'No, he's gonna play academy soccer,'" Antonio said.
From academy homegrown to World Cup starter
Freeman joined Orlando City Academy in 2020, signed a homegrown deal at 17, and worked through the reserve setup before his 2025 breakthrough earned him MLS Young Player of the Year. He's now starting at a World Cup for Mauricio Pochettino's side — a coach who doesn't hand out compliments lightly.
"He has the potential to be one of the best players in his position in the world," Pochettino said on June 20. For a 21-year-old right back still in his first senior season of real consequence, that's a scouting report that will attract serious European attention. His market value after this tournament will look nothing like it did before it started.
The NFL comparisons will keep coming — the name, the bloodline, the athleticism are all there. But Freeman made his call at 17 and never looked back. The goal against Australia said everything his father's polite phone rejections couldn't.
