USMNT vs. Paraguay match ends in fight as Alex Freeman, Gustavo Gomez lose their cool in final moments

CHESTER, Pa. – The U.S. men’s national team’s 2-1 win over Paraguay closed out with a brawl between the two teams, which saw one player sent off and two players receive yellow cards.

In the first minute of stoppage time of the USA’s 2-1 win, the ball went out of play near the midfield line and both the USMNT’s Alex Freeman and Paraguay’s Gustavo Gomez went for the ball. Within moments, Gomez placed Freeman in a headlock, with players from both teams charging to the touchline as a fight broke out. Players and staff duked it out on the sideline for about a minute, a water bottle flying out of the scuffle at one point and separate fights breaking out, including one with Max Arfsten on the side.

“It was difficult to see because I was looking [in] another direction,” USMNT head coach Maurici Pochettino said about the start of the fight before describing it as a “very dangerous situation … “I don’t like this type of situation.”

The crowd eventually dissipated, and in the end, the referee issued a red card to Omar Alderete, who was an unused substitute for Paraguay, while the USMNT’s Cristian Roldan and Paraguay’s Junior Alonso got a yellow card.