USMNT legend believes Matt Freese has right trait to meet the moment in World Cup

IRVINE, Calif.— The U.S.

men’s national team’s goalkeeping was one of its bigger question marks headed into the World Cup.Two games in, it’s hard to say there’s much of an answer.Of course, that’s largely a product of how well the team in front of Matt Freese has played in a pair of wins.

Paraguay had just one shot on goal, Australia had two.So of all the potential rotations Mauricio Pochettino could make in Thursday’s dead rubber against Turkey, Freese is unlikely to be one of them given it may not be the worst thing in the world for him to see more action.“Part of being a goalkeeper is recognizing it’s not always about you.

I’m comfortable with that,” Freese said before Tuesday’s training session.“The less action I have means we’re more comfortable in a game, we’re more likely gonna win.

So I’m typically more focused on that and preventing any shots rather than just being only ready to save them.”The NYCFC keeper rose from relative obscurity over the past year to win the job, earning his first caps in the friendlies leading into last summer’s Gold Cup and quickly supplanting Matt Turner as Pochettino’s preferred option.Despite some questions about the depth chart after Turner started against Belgium in March, and when he started a friendly against Senegal at the end of May, it has indeed been Freese’s net at the World Cup.“He’s a calm goalkeeper by nature,” former USMNT keeper Tim Howard told The Post last week.“I think that’s one thing that stood out.

Particularly if you go back to last summer, he gets his shot at the Gold Cup — coming-out party, all right, this is sort of your tournament — and for a guy who didn’t have any games at all, he sort of was this really calming presence.Didn’t really do too many crazy things back there, and it speaks to his nature.“As you get to know Matt, he’s a thinker.

He’s someone who doesn’t really get rattled by the moment, and if he does, he doesn’t show i...