Freese saves the day as USMNT grinds out another Gold Cup victory

MINNEAPOLIS -- Thanks to three saves from goalkeeper Matt Freese in a dramatic penalty shootout against Costa Rica in a Gold Cup quarterfinal, the United States earned a comeback win after a 2-2 result in regulation time on Sunday.

Held at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the USMNT initially suffered an early setback after Costa Rica's Francisco Calvo scored off a penalty in the 12th minute following a foul from Max Arfsten. Throwing plenty of numbers forward in response, head coach Mauricio Pochettino and his men later won a penalty of their own in the first half, but failed to equalize after Malik Tillman's 37th minute opportunity hit the woodwork.

U.S. winger Diego Luna leveled the quarterfinal with a deflected shot that went in shortly before half-time and and, after the break, Arfsten stepped up with a 47th minute goal that pushed the Americans up 2-1. In the final stages of regulation time, Costa Rica then made it 2-2 through a 71st minute goal from Alonso Martínez, setting the match up for penalties to decide the next semifinalist.

In the shootout, Freese stood tall with his three saves, providing striker Damion Downs with the platform to score the game-winning opportunity to make it 4-3 in penalties.

With a semifinal now set against Guatemala, here are the three biggest talking points from Sunday's U.S. victory.

1. Freese the penalty shootout hero

Just a few weeks ago, when making his USMNT debut against Turkey in a friendly, the New York City FC goalkeeper at first looked like a backup option that would be fighting for a spot on the bench in the 2026 World Cup.

Five starts later and as arguably the Man of the Match against Costa Rica, now the question is if Freese is an indisputable starter for the national team.

Despite being involved in an error in the group stage, the 26-year-old was a reliable option in net for Pochettino with two clean sheets, thereby earning a place in the XI for Sunday's knockout round match. Pointing the blame and serious criticism at Freese for either of Costa Rica's two goals during regulation time would be a stretch, and during the penalty shootout, the American keeper found a way to outshine someone like former Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Three shootout saves, a spot in the semifinal round of the Gold Cup, and most notably for Freese, a continued place as the current No. 1 goalkeeper for the USMNT.

2. Poch's alternate roster gets the job (narrowly) done

Let's first start with some deserved praise. The USMNT have now earned their 17th Gold Cup semifinal appearance and 13th in a row, meaning that in order to find the last time they were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament was in 2000 vs. Colombia on penalties.

Keeping in mind that Pochettino has had to work with an alternate roster that is missing a number of key players this summer, the coach and his players should be given the benefit of any doubts that have emerged through their -- so far -- undefeated Gold Cup run.

That said, the process has been a rollercoaster in recent games. In their two final group-stage matches, the USMNT needed second half game-winners that earned narrow victories against underdogs Saudi Arabia and Haiti. That tense nature then continued into the quarterfinal that went to penalties and, were it not for Freese, we might be having a different conversation altogether about the national team.

Nonetheless, that negativity will have to be put on hold. Nervy results or not, Pochettino has gotten the job done at the Gold Cup and has motivated his side to a semifinal invitation where they will be heavy favorites against Guatemala.

3. Another setback, followed by a leap forward for Arfsten

Credit also must be given to the 24-year-old full-back. When Arfsten brought down Costa Rica's Kenneth Vargas in the first half, the error that led to a penalty seemed to solidify a disappointing Gold Cup for the player that had looked like a defensive liability in his previous appearance against Saudi Arabia last week.

It's not easy to bounce back from such a high-profile mistake in the knockout round, but the Columbus Crew SC player did just that with not only an assist for Luna's equalizer, but also with a second-half goal that put the Americans ahead in the quarterfinal.

Granted, some poor man-marking provided Costa Rica with a path to find their second goal, but Arfsten should still be applauded for his strong mentality, which is emblematic of what Pochettino is trying to build within his roster that bounced back on Sunday.

During a media availability earlier in the group stage, the coach, noting that players shouldn't dwell on any errors, rhetorically asked those in attendance what the most important action on the field is.

Pochettino's answer: "The most important action, is the next one."

Arfsten clearly appears to be growing under the Argentine's tutelage.