FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Alex Freeman grew up playing soccer on fields across Broward County, dreaming of one day representing his country on the sport\u2019s biggest stage.<\/p>\n
Now, the 21-year-old defender is on the verge of making that dream a reality.<\/p>\n
Freeman is expected to make his World Cup debut with the U.S. Men\u2019s National Team, marking a major milestone in a journey that began in South Florida.<\/p>\n
Despite his age, Freeman said he\u2019s embracing the pressure that comes with competing at the highest level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think, yeah, for me it\u2019s my first World Cup and I\u2019m the young guy,\u201d Freeman said in an exclusive interview with Local 10 News. \u201cI think as well for me it\u2019s always going to be a lot of pressure, but for me, it\u2019s how can I deal with the pressure and make it into something great when I play.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Freeman, the moment is about more than personal achievement. It\u2019s an opportunity to represent the people who helped him reach this point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think for me it\u2019s to realize that I\u2019m not only doing it for the fans and for myself,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cI\u2019m doing it for the people that helped me get to this point. From Fort Lauderdale, from where I\u2019m from, and it just means so much that I\u2019m able to have that kind of support back home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeman said taking the leap to pursue a professional soccer career came with uncertainty, but the encouragement he received from family, friends and his South Florida community helped fuel his confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cKnowing that I took a risk and I had so many people backing me, encouraging me to do this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Representing the United States on the international stage is something Freeman said he does not take lightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me it\u2019s such an honor,\u201d Freeman said. \u201cBut I know honor comes with privilege, knowing that you have the privilege and the confidence and desire to be able to wear the shirt and perform when you\u2019re in it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he prepares to step onto the field, Freeman said he remains focused on carrying that responsibility with gratitude and pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways having that honor and grateful energy that you don\u2019t get to wear this every day,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd when you do get to wear it, it\u2019s to wear with pride.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the former Broward County standout, the upcoming match represents the latest chapter in a remarkable rise from local soccer fields to the global stage \u2014 one that South Florida will be watching closely.<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by WPLG Local10.com – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2014 Alex Freeman grew up playing soccer on fields across Broward County, dreaming of one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":305131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250],"class_list":["post-305130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=305130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/305131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=305130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=305130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=305130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}