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European notebook

Euro Notebook: Bello & Freeman make UCL debuts, Wynalda lands coaching job, Reyna impresses, & more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta gives his thougths on the news from the past week among Americans in Europe
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 08, 2026
7:55 PM

WE HOPE EVERYONE had a nice long Labor Day weekend and with that, there is even more news to break down than usual from across the Atlantic Ocean with regards to American players and coaches.

One big takeaway is that we are now just about a month into the season and the early returns is that it has not been a good start for most of the U.S. World Cup veterans. The smallish contingent in the Premier League have not found much success. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are injured. Auston Trusty and Celic could not qualify for the Champions League.

The only exceptions have been Gio Reyna at Strasbourg, Sebastian Berhalter at Middlesbrough, and Malik Tillman at Bayer Leverkusen. Otherwise, it has not been great.

But here are the top stories of the week.

 

Bello makes Champions League debut

 

George Bello, 24, made his Champions League debut for LASK in a 1-0 away loss to AEK Athens on Tuesday. He played all 90 minutes and did not stand out either way for the Austrian champions.

LASK is without its top center forward for the time being Sam Adeniran recently underwent surgery to repair a facial bone. The American has been LASK’s best scorer to start this season.

 

We don’t know yet, but perhaps Bello has done enough to get back into the national team mix. He has been out of the picture since his move from Atlanta to Arminia Bielefeld in Germany went poorly.

 

Freeman features in Champions League

 

Alex Freeman came on to play the second half in Villarreal’s visit to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. When Freeman came on, it was 0-0. Borussia Dortmund took a 1-0 lead before Villarreal equalized at 1-1. Ultimately, the German club prevailed at home 3-2.

Freeman played well, just as he did over the weekend when he started in Villarreal’s 3-2 loss to Deportivo Coruna on Saturday when he started and played all 90 minutes. Freeman played on the left side as opposed to his normal right side and was tasked with defending Julian Ryerson, which he handled well. He was also very effective in winning his duels, maintaining possession, and getting the ball forward.

Based on his recent performances, Freeman looks as if he will soon be a regular starter for Villarreal.

 

Wynalda takes job in Estonia

 

There are not many head coaches of European teams that were born and raised in the United States, but Eric Wynalda, 57, is now one of them. The former U.S. national team forward has taken the job of FC Nõmme United in Estonia, which was just promoted to the country’s top league last season.  

The Talinn-based club is currently in a relegation battle in Estonia’s top flight where it sits eighth in the 10-team league. It is currently even on points with the relegation-playoff position (ninth place) with 11 games to go in the season.

 

Reyna’s impresses at Strasbourg

 

Gio Reyna started for Strasbourg over the weekend and scored in a 6-2 win over Troyes. His goal came in the 52nd minute when he took a short just inside the box and hit a shot that deflected and went into the goal.

But overall, it has been a very positive start to the season for Reyna who is getting what he wants – starts and playing time. He has now started each of Strasbourg’s last two games which have both been convincing wins.

Scally and Campbell in Bundesliga battle

 

One of the best games over the weekend involving American players was Elversberg’s 4-3 away win over Borussia Monchengladbach. The game featured two Americans in the starting lineups. Speeding winger Cole Campbell continued to get the nod for Elversberg while Joe Scally started at right back for M’Gladbach.

There was a lot to unpack from this game. First, Campbell was subbed out in the 64th minute with Elversberg down 3-1. He was not on the field for the team’s three-goal comeback win. His replacement, Maurice Krattenmacher, scored two goals.

Joe Scally, meanwhile, scored in the 56th minute to give M’Gladbach a 3-1 lead. He was subbed out in the 77th minute with his team up 3-2, only to watch his teammates collapse late.

The teams are heading in completely different directions. M’Gladbach has two losses from two games to start the season while newly-promoted Elversberg has two wins from two games.

Campbell might not start every game this season, but he has found his best possible place for playing time. For Scally, this seems like his final year at M’Gladbach.

 

Musah continues revival

 

Yunus Musah continued his surprising start to the season with AC Milan where new head coach Ruben Amorim continues to see the U.S. international has his starting central midfielder, despite his terrible 2025/26 season where Milan shipped him on loan to Atalanta – only to continue to see him struggle for minutes.

On Sunday, Musah played all 90 minutes in a 1-1 away draw with Juventus. He was regularly solid with the ball and his passing was effective. But most important was the absence of the glaring mistakes that have plagued him in the past.

Musah is in a great place now. He should be a part of Milan’s push to get back into the Champions League next season and he will likely return to the U.S. national team soon.

Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic did not get off the bench for Milan after he missed the preseason with his hairline fracture. Weston McKennie also is out with an unspecified muscle injury.

 

Bombino & McGlynn feature in Stoke draw

 

In a midweek slate of Championship games, Stoke City played Cardiff City to a 1-1 away draw in Wales on Tuesday night. Luca Bombino started for Stoke and played 59 minutes while Jack McGlynn came into the game in the 69th minute.

Unlike his debut where he played on the right side, Bombino shifted back to his normal right left wingback position. He did not get on the ball that much but played well defensively and handled the physical side of the game well.

 

McGlynn also struggled to get on the ball and only was 4/4 in passing but got involved defensively to help preserve the away draw.

After losing three games to start the season, Stoke City has two wins and a draw since the two American players arrived.

 

Yanks in the Carabao Cup

 

The EFL Cup, aka the Carabao Cup, in England always has a mixed level of importance with clubs as it features a mix of regulars, backups, and youth players.

Tyler Adams remained on the bench for Bournemouth in its 4-0 win over Lincoln City.

Crystal Palace defeated Middlesbrough 3-0. Zavier Gozo played the last 17 minutes in the win but did not do anything much of note. Chris Richards did not play for Palace.

For Middlesbrough, Aiden Morris played 84 minutes and had 102 touches to lead all players. He completed 82/29 passes and won 7/8 of his ground duels while drawing three fouls in what was a busy day for the Ft. Lauderdale native. He was eventually replaced by fellow American Rokas Pukstas who played out the remainder of the game without doing anything of note. Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten did not play.

 

Hilton to Grasshopper

 

After spending the last three seasons with FC Dordrecht in the second tier Eerste Divisie in Holland, American left back John Hilton, 25, will be joining Grasshopper Club Zurich in the Swiss Super League. It will be his first time playing in a top division in any country. He arrives at the club on a free transfer after his contract with Dordrecht ended in June.

Grasshopper used to be one of the top clubs in Switzerland but has fallen on hard times the last two seasons, only narrowly escaping relegation the last two seasons. For the last 18 months its majority owner was MLS club Los Angeles FC but LAFC opted to sell over the summer. Grasshopper is off to a slow start yet again in 2026/27 with just one win from its first six games.



Long List of struggling teams

 

Venezia dropped a heartbreaking 3-2 decision to Frosinone on Saturday. As a result, the newly promoted team has lost all three of its Serie A games to start the season. Gianluca Busio is playing well in the losing efforts and he had an assist on Venezia’s second goal, but he has not yet been able to help achieve results.

Antonee Robinson lost to Crystal Palace 3-2 on Saturday in a London Derby and the Cottagers have now lost their first three games of the season. Robinson played 79 minutes in the loss and all of Fulham are struggling.

The Crystal Palace win over Fulham was its first of the season and Chris Richards played 90 minutes in what has been a subpar start to the season for the normally strong central defender from Alabama.

Tyler Adams played 76 minutes for Bournemouth in a 2-2 draw away against Newcastle. Adams left the game with the Cherries up 2-1 but his team remains winless from its first three games.

In Ligue 1, Mark McKenzie and Toulouse have just a point from three games to start the season after a 1-0 loss to Lille at home.

In the Bundesliga, Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach remained without a point from its first two games of the season after its 4-3 loss to Elversberg. Meanwhile, Santiago Castaneda and newly promoted Paderborn are also winless, but at least have a point from its season opening 0-0 draw at Mainz.

In the Scottish Premiership, CJ Fodrey and Jacob Murrell managed a point on Saturday in a 1-1 draw with Dundee United with Murrell scoring the team’s goal. But Falkirk has yet to win a game through five rounds in the Premiership season.

Meanwhile in the 2.Bundesliga, John Tolkin and Holstein Kiel are still without a win after games following a 1-1 draw with Nurnberg over the weekend.

 

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