One Extraordinary Photo: U.S' Alex Freeman leap over Paraguay

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Jayne Kamin-Oncea been an Associated Press freelance photographer in Los Angeles for the past 10 years. She began her photo career as an AP stringer in Miami in 1978 while at the University of Miami. She also spent 27 years working with the Los Angeles Times.

Why this photo?

The US-Paraguay match Friday was the first match of the 2026 World Cup in the United States and you could feel the emotions throughout the stadium. Alex Freeman and the other US players say they were focused from the start. During any match, players regularly battle along the sidelines and I look for photos that show players appearing to balance on a tightrope near the edge of the out-of-bounds line as they’re trying to keep the ball in play. As I was shooting, I knew it was turning into a nice photo with intensity. The frame showing Freeman airborne above Antonio Sanabria's head and shoulders could also be viewed as an illustration of the US dominance over Paraguay.

How I made this photo

I shot with Nikon Z9 and 400 2.8. The play was WAY downfield, so I hit the crop sensor button. A lot of photographers don’t like the light at SoFi but I love it because my camera set up loves it! I have my camera set on 30FPS with the pre-release at one-third of a second. I always shoot at a very high shutter speed to limit any motion blur. 4000th of a second and just adjust the ISO with the changing light.

Why it works

The composition of the image stands out, especially how high Freeman jumps of Paraguay’s Sanabria and kicks his leg up high. From the time the moment the play started the photos actually got better in the final frames.