His father played football. He plays fútbol.
Alex Freeman, the son of former Green Bay Packers wide receiver Antonio Freeman, scored a goal in the first half of the United States’ 2-0 World Cup win over Australia on Friday.
Freeman’s goal, which extended the red, white, and blue’s lead shortly before halftime, was initially disallowed as offsides. However, a video review showed he was even with the Socceroos’ back line at the time of teammate Sergiño Dest’s shot from the top of the box, which caromed off a defender before Freeman followed up and headed the ball home.
“It was surreal, knowing that I was able to contribute to my team in any way I can,” Freeman told Fox Sports’ Tom Rinaldi of the goal following the victory. “Obviously at first it was disallowed, so I was kind of anxious when it went to VAR (video assistant referee). And then just to be able to celebrate the whole thing with my teammates, I think that just made it come together as a whole and made the experience. I’m happy I could contribute to a clean sheet, not only a clean sheet, but a win.”
Freeman, 21, now has three international goals and also tallied an assist in the U.S. men’s national team’s opening-game win over Paraguay.
His father, Antonio, played eight of his nine NFL seasons for the Packers, winning Super Bowl XXXI with Green Bay. The elder Freeman, who had 7,251 receiving yards and 61 touchdowns on 477 career receptions, led the league in 1998 with 1,424 receiving yards on the way to making his lone Pro Bowl and All-Pro team.
Freeman and the United States sit atop Group D with six points, having already advanced to the knockout stage with one group game (versus Turkiye on June 25) still to go.
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