IT’S FRIDAY and after a slow midweek of games and news, we have a very busy weekend ahead of us in MLS and abroad so it should be a fun time. So let’s look at Friday’s news, today’s games, and a look ahead to the weekend.

Let’s start with two stories of Dual National Panic.

Zendejas to the USMNT

That is the report of TUDN’s Gibrán Araige who reported after the press conference of new Mexico manager Diego Cocca to announce his team’s March roster. That roster included former U.S. international Julian Araujo who recently transferred from the LA Galaxy to Barcelona.

But the roster did not include Club America winger/midfielder Alejandro Zendejas, 24, who has had a very erratic international career. He played for the U.S. U-17 team at the 2015 U-17 World Cup but was sold by FC Dallas to Chivas. There he began to play for Mexican youth national teams and last year played for the country’s full national team in friendlies. But he never filed for a switch and Mexico was fined.

In January, he played for the USMNT in a friendly loss to Serbia but said he was not 100% committing his future to the U.S team.

But Araige now says Zendejas has chosen to play for the U.S. national team. Does that mean that Zendeas will play for the U.S. team this month in Nations League games? Perhaps - if Araige is correct. 

And the winner is…????????!!!

????ZENDEJAS VA POR U.S.A????

Alejandro Zendejas se va por el camino de las Barras y las Estrellas.

Acá toda la información…????????????????????????@TUDNMEX @TUDNUSA https://t.co/U1JpC93HEW

— Gibrán Araige (@GibranAraige) March 3, 2023

While he is an unlikely starter, Zendejas is a nice depth pickup for the U.S. team after a solid season last year with Club America. In the Apertura, he had four goals and two assists in 1221 minutes.

Koleosho Italian training camp

Dual National Panic was not as kind to the U.S program on another front. Top American wing prospect Luca Koleosho, 18, as been close to the first team of La Liga’s Espanyol over the past year but is still waiting for his first start.

Born and raised in Connecticut, Koleosho carries three passports and has represented the United States youth teams in the past. Last year, he was called up by Canada’s full national team twice (his mother was born in Canada) but did not play in any game.

But on Thursday it got more serious as Italy’s U-19 team called him up for a training camp. But things are very much in the balance. ASN has learned he will just be attending a training camp with Italy's U-109 team from Sunday through Wednesday. After that, a decision will be made on playing for the United States or Italy in the upcoming youth tournaments.

Today’s games

There are a pair of 2.Bundesliga games that are interesting. Fabian Hurzeler will try to remain perfect since taking the head coaching job at St. Pauli. The club has 15 points from his first five games to move from the cusp of the relegation zone and into seventh place. On Friday, they visit Paderborn.

Fifth-place Kaiserslautern are still aiming for a second straight promotion and their success is largely on Terrence Boyd, 32, who has 11 goals on the season (tied for third). Today, Kaiserslautern visits Magdeburg.

In the top flight, Gio Reyna has barely played in recent weeks for Borussia Dortmund and today they host a good RB Leipzig team. Dortmund is playing so well, it will be tough to get Reyna in.

In the Eredivisie, seventh-place FC Utrecht hosts Fortuna Sittard but it is still too early to know if Taylor Booth will play for Utrecht. He has been dealing with an injury and missed the club’s elimination from the Dutch Cup.

USMNT scouts will be on hand to watch Djordje Mihailovic as his third-place AZ Alkmaar team visits 13^th place Vitesse. Mihailovic’s playing time has been erratic, but he has had to recover from injury for the middle portion of February. Still, a good performance in this game could get him back on the U.S. national team later this month.

In Portugal, Reggie Cannon and Boavista host Arouca, who have American Benji Michel. Cannon continues to play as a central defender for Boavista and that has hurt his chances on the U.S. national team.

Another game to follow from a USMNT perspective is at 3pm EST when Hull City hosts West Brom. West Brom forward Daryl Dike is coming off a two-goal performance for 11^th place West Brom in a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough. He is another player on the cusp of the national team and another big game could swing things in his favor.

Saturday and Sunday abroad

A few of the big things I am watching for this weekend abroad:

On Saturday

-          Pellegrino Matarazzo needs to find a win with a Hoffenheim team sinking to relegation. On Saturday they visit Mainz and John Brooks is likely on the bench.

-          After a brutal 4-0 loss last weekend to Mainz, it seems likely that Joe Scally will return to the XI for Borussia Monchengladbach and reclaim his spot.

-          Chris Richards has also found playing time to be uneven for Crystal Palace. Will he get minutes in Saturday’s visit to Aston Villa? Is he in line for a call-up this month? Probably.

-          In probably the most intriguing game for Americans in Europe this weekend, a struggling Chelsea team hosts Leeds United and their American trio. If Leeds can get a win, it would be massive after Everton dropped a game against Arsenal this week. Leeds played poorly in the FA Cup loss to Fulham. Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie need to rise to the occasion.

-          Zack Steffen and Middlesbrough will look to shake off a loss last weekend to West Brom and remain in the promotional hunt when they host Reading on Saturday.

-          In Scotland, Malik Tillman and Rangers host Kilmanock with the team looking likely to finish second. Is Tillman nearing a return to the USMNT?

-          It’s hard to see Matthew Hoppe getting a USMNT call-up this month but he can continue to put his career on the rise on his loan with Hibs when they visit Scott Pittman and Livingston. Hoppe scored his first Hibs goal last game in a 2-0 win over Kilmarnock.

-          Defensive midfielder Lennard Maloney and Heidenheim sit third in the 2.Bundesliga and are aiming for promotion. Saturday’s game at home against first place Darmstadt.

-          In the Eredivisie, Ricardo Pepi will hope to continue his strong season with a visit to leaders Feyenoord. Groningen might be relegation fodder, but Pepi is giving himself options for next year with nine goals on this season for a bad team.

-          Sergino Dest’s lost season likely continues when AC Milan visits Fiorentina.

-          Tim Weah will likely continue on at left back when Lille hosts Lens.

-          USMNT scouts will be on hand to watch Marlon Fossey and Standard Liege host Bryan Reynolds and Westerlo. Reynolds seems like having a great shot to return to the USMNT this month – it has been two years since he last played with the team.

On Sunday

-          Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic will likely continue their coast to a Scottish title with a visit to St. Mirren

-          Erik Palmer-Brown and Troyes are looking to climb out of the relegation zone when they host Monaco.

-          Another American coasting to a title is Mark McKenzie and Genk who visit St. Truiden. McKenzie is another player to watch for a possible return to the USMNT in March.

-          Venezia can climb to safety in Serie B with a result against Frosinone. Tanner Tessmann has been among the team’s best players while Gianluca Busio hasn’t quite fit in. Andrija Novakovich will hope his first goal of the season comes against his former team. Tessmann is a dark horse for a USMNT call-up.

-          U.S U-20 midfielder Rokas Pukstas and young winger Agustin Anello, 20 will hope to start for second place Hajduk Split against NK Lokomotiva in Croatia’s HNL.

-          In a huge game for Yunus Musah, relegation battling Valencia will hope to build off their big win last weekend against Real Sociedad with a tough visit to Camp Nou to face Barcelona.

-          U.S. U-20 teammates could meet in the Bundesliga when Wolfsburg host Eintracht Frankfurt. Kevin Paredes has a regular role with Wolfsburg – typically off the bench – while Paxten Aaronson made the bench for the first time last week for Eintracht but went as an unused sub.

MLS: Matchday 2 Lookahead

• Philadelphia Union have a bullseye on their back as the league’s best team and a convincing 4-1 win over Columbus in week one. The question from a U.S. youth perspective is whether or not Jim Curtin can find a way to get their U-20 trio into the game for more than cameos. It’s tough for Curtin and it’s tough for Jack McGlynn, Quinn Sullivan, and Brandan Craig. On Saturday, Philly visits Inter Miami who impressed with a 2-0 win over Montreal.

• DC United visits Columbus in a meeting of original teams. DC United mounted a big comeback 3-2 win over Toronto in the opening week and the effort was on the heels of young American subs. Ted Ku-DiPietro scored and assisted in injury time to turn a loss into a win but Kristian Fletcher and Jackson Hopkins also played well off the bench.
• The Red Bulls had a tough opener in a 1-0 loss to Orlando but will host a Nashville team which outplayed NYCFC 2-0. From an American perspective, Walker Zimmerman was very sharp in the win but Nashville still remains limited offensively (Zimmerman on set pieces and Hany Mukhtar in the open field). The Red Bulls have a big American presence with John Tolkin at left back, Frankie Amaya in central midfield, Dan Edelman in defensive midfield, Sean Nealis in central defense,  Kyle Duncan or Cam Harper (typically a winger) at right back. The question for the Red Bulls will be scoring goals.

• Seattle and Real Salt Lake are rivals and Seattle has taken a lot from RSL in recent years. I am looking forward to seeing how this matchup emerges. Is Seattle really back or did they simply take advantage of a bad Colorado team in the 4-0 opening day win. But RSL defeated Vancouver 2-1 in Canada and will be a much better test and Pablo Mastroeni continues to do a good job with the team. For Seattle, Jordan Morris played like his old form before his last ACL tear. Seattle needs a lot of things to go right to be back. They are a older team but still a contender if everyone stays healthy and doesn’t tire.
• The New England Revolution will host Houston in their home opener on Saturday. This is interesting because Houston actually impressed in their opener despite losing away to Cincinnati 2-1. IF they play like that regularly, they will win games. It was a good step for Ben Olsen. But Bruce Arena’s team also impressed in a tough 1-0 win away against Charlotte. Young American Noel Buck, 17, was one of the top young American players in the league and will now have to deal with expectations and hype.

• Orlando hosting FC Cincinnati is also one of the better matchups on paper after both teams won their openers – but weren’t convincing either. Orlando didn’t necessarily look great in the 1-0 win over the Red Bulls. New DP Migue Ojeda was particularly disappointing, and the entire midfield didn’t generate much. U.S. U-20 right back Michael Halliday however looked impressive with the U-20 World Cup approaching. Cincinnati also didn’t play up to expectations in their 2-1 win over Houston. Still, the team’s front line is very good and Brandon Vazquez is also motivated to earn another USMNT call-up this month.
• St. Louis City will play their first ever home game when they host Charlotte FC. That will be quite the atmosphere and the team is buzzing after a big win over Austin FC. Charlotte, meanwhile, should be desperate after losing to the Revs at home in front of a home crowd of over 70,000.
• FC Dallas disappointed in their season opener with a 1-0 loss to Minnesota. Nico Estevez needs to get more out of Jesus Ferreira, Paul Arriola, Alan Velasco, Sebastian Lletget, and Paxton Pomykal. There should be enough chemistry in that group to be a contender in the West. Now Dallas will host an LA Galaxy team opening its season. That team is tough to predict.

• LAFC will also open up its defense at home with a matchup vs. a Portland team that did well in its opener. Is Steve Cherundolo a contender for the USMNT job? His sophomore season will be telling and he showed a lot of promise as a manager in year one.
• Finally, Atlanta United need Thiago Almada to rescues them in the first week against San Jose at home. Despite his heroics, they didn’t play well. The good news for them is that Toronto isn’t great either and is thin. Without Lorenzo Insigne, it’s harder for Toronto. If Atlanta can’t play better in this game, it’s not a good sign for them to compete against the league’s better teams.