Four years ago, Orlando City SC signed a 17-year-old Academy player to their roster, a move that barely registered at the time. Alex Freeman spent the next two seasons on the margins, logging just 10 minutes across the 2023 and 2024 MLS seasons. He showed promise in MLS Pro, the club’s developmental setup, and earned promotion to the senior team, but expectations remained modest.

The 21-year-old made his debut in the 2026 FIFA World Cup against Paraguay, putting on an impressive showcase. And Freeman Sr. is a bundle of emotions watching his son thrive, though he admits the nerves have returned thanks to the World Cup.

“Days of being nervous during game days were over,” Freeman Sr. said in an interview on X. “But here we are, back to being nervous with the jitters right before the game, throughout the game, and this experience has just been amazing.”

“I mean, it’s a global sport that we’re talking about, and, you know, it just reaches so many other countries, and it sets a serious thing. And to be one of the only 26 selected to represent the United States of America at a young age of 21 is very special for him and, of course, for me as a dad, uh, very proud of him.”

It was a series of events that turned his life around in 2025. Freeman came off the bench in the season opener against the Philadelphia Union and altered the trajectory of his career. By the second game, he was in the starting lineup, scored his first MLS goal, and never looked back. By June, he made his USMNT debut against Türkiye at 20 years old, becoming the youngest player to earn his first cap under head coach Mauricio Pochettino. He then started every match in the United States’ run to the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.

Freeman made himself indispensable. Pochettino quickly placed his trust in the 6-foot-2 right-back, and Freeman has since featured in every international match but one. He finished his 2025 MLS campaign with 30 appearances, six goals, and nine total goal contributions, earning MLS Best XI and MLS All-Star honors. Even Christian Pulisic took notice, saying Freeman “is an absolute beast” and “has really impressed me”.

In January 2026, Freeman transferred to Villarreal in Spain’s La Liga for a reported $4 million with incentives up to $6.5 million, making him one of the few Americans in Europe’s top five leagues and the first player in Orlando City history to progress from the academy through MLS NEXT Pro and MLS before reaching the World Cup stage.

Consider Christian Pulisic, Freeman’s teammate and a Champions League winner who many call the heir to Landon Donovan. Standing alongside that pedigree, Freeman’s rise feels even more remarkable. His breakthrough earned him a move to Villarreal in January 2026, making him one of the few Americans playing in Europe’s top five leagues. His father never doubted it would happen. Antonio had always told his son to keep his head down and keep working.

“Even then, he was playing for the B team (for Orlando), so it’s not like he was getting a lot of time with the big team,” Antonio told ESPN. “I didn’t really know what to tell him as a parent. I just told him, ‘Hey, just keep working, be ready. The next opportunity will come. You just got to make it happen.'”

Now Alex Freeman is playing in a home World Cup, surrounded by thousands of American fans. It’s an experience unlike any other, and even Green Bay Packers legend Antonio Freeman finds himself shaken by it. That’s surprising, considering the Packers icon once wanted his son to follow him into the NFL.

Antonio Freeman wanted Alex to follow in his footsteps

Alex Freeman’s rise has been meteoric. From ten minutes of game time to playing for the USMNT at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in just 18 months. Though given that his father is Antonio Freeman, an NFL legend, that isn’t really surprising. After all, Freeman Sr. thrived for the Green Bay Packers in his heyday, even winning Super Bowl XXXI. Not just that, he also led them in receiving for four seasons (1996-99), even leading the NFL in 98.

It is thus no surprise that some of Alex’s best traits as a defender may have been passed down. That includes his ability to read the game and his athleticism. That’s something his father noticed in him as a child as well. More importantly, it was something he tried to lure over to the NFL. But unfortunately, Alex had only one thing on his mind.

“I had dreams of coaching him in football and basketball and showing him how to shoot a 3-pointer, make a pump fake and different things,” Antonio told ESPN. “But his joy was on that soccer field, and when he became a teenager, he just played more and more soccer.”

“It was soccer every day, all day. He was watching it on his iPad, he was kicking the balls around the house against the furniture, which you’re not supposed to do. He kicked everything. It didn’t matter what it looked like, he would just kick it. And he just grew into the sport.”

Then came the moment that meant even more than hearing his name called in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Packers. Alex Freeman earned his first cap for the USMNT, with head coach Mauricio Pochettino delivering the news through a video message. The moment hit Freeman Sr. hard, and he kind of went “crazy,” in his own way.

“Man, you know what, that was an amazing personal moment for me to get drafted,” Antonio added. “But I always want to see other guys be successful too, and I’m definitely that way about my kids. You always want to see your kids do better and to reach the heights and pro sports and pro football that I reached, which is pretty high.

“And then you have your kid come along and not even go from a national superstar but go to a global star, that’s like next level. We see coach on the video congratulate him on making the team. And man, I just went ecstatic, man. I just lost it, ran around the room, kind of crazy.”

For Antonio Freeman, the World Cup has brought back emotions he thought he had left behind. This time, he’s witnessing it from the stands rather than the field. And with Alex Freeman’s rise showing no signs of slowing down, the proud father may have to get used to those game-day nerves.