Matt Freese battles for World Cup spot, sketchy NYCFC transfer rumors emerge

The HRB Podcast powers on and it's an international break-heavy episode this week, with the conversation starting with the United States men's national team and their pair of friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. The ongoing battle at the goalkeeper position for the United States was of particular interest to our New York City FC-centric selves.

Against Belgium, Matt Freese didn't start for the first time in 12 matches and the United States conceded five goals, though only one goal could be, possibly, placed at the feet Freese's replacement, Matt Turner of the New England Revolution. Why did USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino drop Freese from his lineup, and what does that move, and Turner's less-than-amazing performance, mean for The Iceman's chances to start in goal at this summer's World Cup?

The field of teams in this summer's World Cup just got clearer, and Freese and the United States now know that they'll face Turkiye in their third and final match of Group D play. We go through the full USMNT group schedule and try to game out a path through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, then set some internal HRB Pod expectations for how we think the USMNT should perform while hosting the World Cup.

After the international scene is covered in full, the second half of the show is entirely New York City FC-focused. That begins with a rundown of some random and somewhat dubious transfer rumors to emerge around NYCFC in the days immediately before and after the closing of the MLS Primary Transfer Window. First we sketchy cover a rumor that Nico Fernández Mercau is wanted by the two biggest teams in Portugal, then it's over to a thin report linking NYCFC with interest in signing Charlotte FC star Wilfried Zaha, and our brief portion of transfer chatter ends with a head-scratching rumor linking a young central defender with Fluminense in Brazil, 20-year-old João Loiola, with a loan move to come play for NYCFC II in MLS Next Pro.

When done weighing the validity, or lack thereof, of the transfer rumor mill's latest offerings, it's time to preview NYCFC's return to MLS play, when they host St. Louis City SC for the first time ever. St. Louis missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, but they're not a familiar opponent for New York City, and they can hurt teams thanks to employing the likes of Marcel Hartel in their attack.

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