Matko_miljevic_-_asn_top_-_huracan_-_april_2025
Morning update

Morning update: Miljevic shines, lots of Euro struggles for Yanks, Vancouver rising, and more

ASN's Brian Sciaretta ends your Tuesday with a lot of thoughts on American players and teams - both domestically and abroad. 
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
April 15, 2025
8:05 PM

HAPPY TUESDAY NIGHT EVERYONE and the past week in American soccer was a fun one both domestically and abroad as numerous players on the fringe of the national team boosted their case for future call-ups as Matko Miljevic, Paxten Aaronson, Brian White, and Griffin Yow all impressed while mainstays such as Yunus Musah, Mark McKenzie, and Folarin Balogun all are in tough spots.

Anyway, here is my notebook from the past few days.

 

Carter-Vickers hits wondergoal

 

With Celtic running away with the title and already up 3-0 early against Kilmarnock, Cameron Carter-Vickers decided to let a shot rip from 30 yards after he was given a lot of time and space. He’s the last person you would expect to score a goalazo from distance, but he defied all expectations.



Afterward, he was honest about it.

"I stepped in and hit it and it flew in, and I probably couldn’t do that again if I tried, but it went in today so I’m happy,” said Carter-Vickers.

 

Yanks in Championship, 4 games to go

 

There are four games to go in the Championship season before the promotion playoffs and several Americans are involved in promotional races and one is in a relegation fight.

The unfortunate news from the weekend is that Josh Sargent is essentially out of the running for the playoffs with Norwich, which fell to second place Burnley. Sargent is one of the best forwards in the league and Norwich would have been in better shape had Sargent been healthy the whole season. Instead they are now 10 points out of the playoffs in 13th place.

There is a lot to consider for Sargent this summer. There will be interest in him but will clubs still be hesitant to spend a lot given his injury history? But will Norwich be willing to sell given that he can be a huge part of the equation next season in a promotion hunt?

Sargent has a lot of things to consider. He plays at Norwich and is a focal point of the attack. But there is also the coming World Cup and Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t seem as eager to dip into second divisions as previous USMNT managers. It is also a concern that Sargent hasn’t scored for the USMNT since 2019. He might feel he has to make a move to get into that team.

Also, Caleb Wiley and Watford dropped a 2-1 decision to Watford to make any talk of the playoffs almost unrealistic. Disappointing for Watford, but there are English reports that Watford would like to extend Wiley’s loan from Chelsea next season. That would be a great move for the former Atlanta United left back. Watford next year would give him a chance to play a lot of games, have the hopes of the playoffs, and learn about the English game. That’s ideal for a 20-year-old player still learning.

As for the Americans who still have something to play for there are six players: four are in the promotion race and two are in the relegation battle.

Brenden Aaronson and Leeds defeated Preston North End 2-1 and now have a five point lead on automatic promotion with four games to go. They also have a very favorable schedule with three opponents in positions 17th or below. Aaronson is playing better now after a tough stretch, but his biggest concern is whether Leeds replace him this summer in the starting lineup.

In the Championship, spots three through six go to the playoffs and teams currently 6th, 7th, and 8th all have an American player. Haji Wright and Coventry occupy the final playoff spot at 63 points while Daryl Dike and West Brom along with Aidan Morris and Middlesbrough both have 60 points.

It is anyone’s game who gets the last playoff spot, but it would be good to see Dike play more although we don’t know what type of form he is in since his return from Achilles surgeries. It looks like there will be an American involved in the playoffs (although Millwall could change that) but all three teams continue to be woefully inconsistent.

At the bottom of the table, Ethan Horvath and Cardiff are a point deep in the relegation zone after a 1-0 loss to Stoke City and Lynden Gooch. It’s going to be a close call for Horvath and Cardiff as they’re not playing well and have a tricky schedule the rest of the way. Horvath might be looking for the exit door if they head down. Meanwhile, Gooch and Stoke are likely now safe as they are five points clear of the relegation zone.

 

Yanks in Serie A face questions

 

There are all kinds of questions lingering over the five Americans in Serie A.

The good news is that the best American player in the game, Christian Pulisic, is in a great spot, and he continues to play well despite a rocky season for AC Milan. Over the weekend, he assisted via a corner kick in a 4-0 win over Udinese in a rare game where everything came together nicely for Milan.

But then there is Yunus Musah who was an unused substitute one week after getting mercifully yanked in the 25th minute. His dip in form came at a bad time as Milan are facing tough questions about how to organize for their future and put a bad season behind them. Musah hasn’t done a good job building his case. It should almost be expected that Milan will look for suitors this summer. But Musah also needs to ask himself some questions about whether he should try to settle down at wing despite preferring to play centrally. Just about every coach he has had eventually decides to shift him out wide after playing him in the middle. When he was a young player, Musah was intriguing because he was athletic and had elite dribbling potential. But now he is 22 and is not that much improved from when he was 18.

Then there is Weston McKennie who has had a tough month. His performances with the USMNT in March were poor, he hasn’t stood out with Juventus, he has played numerous positions, and then last week he was one of the 12 Serie A players accused of making illegal (non-soccer) bets. For a player who has had a past with immaturity, this shows that the same problematic decision making exists. Meanwhile, he is trying to break into the plans for new manager Igor Tudor.

On Sunday, McKennie had a good game (albeit at left wingback) for Juve in a 2-1 win over Lecce. He ended up playing 67 minutes and left with a 2-0 lead. It was particularly reassuring to see him work hard on defense while also create chances offensively. Meanwhile, getting a read on his situation at Juventus remains difficult given that the club is in a transitional phase.

Meanwhile, Tim Weah entered the game when McKennie left and didn’t stand out much but he did complete 20/21 of his passes. Still, he has been a very useful player for them in a variety of roles where he sometimes starts, sometimes doesn’t but is generally always competent.

McKennie and Juventus have had a rocky time together, but at what point does it end?

Finally, you have Gianluca Busio and Venezia who got a much needed win when it defeated last-place Monza 1-0 in front of an enthusiastic crowd at home at the tip of Venice. With six games remaining, Venezia now sits in 19th place out of 20 but is only two points from survival. They are playing better as a team and have only one loss in their last seven Serie A games.

Busio, 23, was decent in this game but he continues to be important to the club’s midfield. 

Venezia’s next game is an away trip to Empoli in what will be a relegation six-pointer between the 17th and 18th placed teams in Serie A who are even on points. A winner in this game would stand a very good chance of climbing to safety.

If Venezia survive, Busio will likely stay. But what happens if Venezia go back down? Does Busio slog through another season in Serie B or does he look for something different?

 

Yow and Reynolds seem likely to move

 

2024 United States Olympic team winger Griffin Yow is back into top form and on Friday, the former DC United homegrown scored an equalizer in stoppage time for Westerlo in a 2-2 draw with Sporting Charleroi. Yow’s right footed shot from the center of the box came just minutes after Sporting Charleroi pulled ahead just before stoppage time.

Yow, 22, now has six goals and four goals in league play this season for Westerlo and he looks like he will be sold this summer given his success, his youth, and the likely cash needs for a small, midtable club like Westerlo. If he can continue to play well in the season’s final weeks, it will bode well for his chances to move to a bigger club.

Bryan Reynolds has also had a good season at right back for Westerlo and the former FC Dallas homegrown is expensive for Westerlo and an offseason move should also be a strong possibility for him.

It seems very far-fetched two successful and young players will remain at a club like Westerlo for three or four years.

 

Miljevic, Tillman, and Aaronson boost USMNT case

 

In terms of players who are knocking at the door, a few players are knocking hard.

Matko Miljevic, 23, is playing terrific soccer in Argentina right now for Huracan. On Monday, he scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in a 2-1 victory over Huracan. Last week, Miljevic had three assists in a 5-0 win over Racing in the Copa Sudamericana. Before that, it was two goals in a 3-3 draw against Aldosivi. In total, 3 games, 3 goals, 3 assists. He has a troubled past with some questionable decision making, but Pochettino might be willing to overlook that.

Meanwhile, Malik Tillman scored for PSV in a 5-0 win over Almere City but the question for him has always been about getting his club form to translate internationally.

Finally, Paxten Aaronson and Utrecht defeated Groningen 3-1 and are cruising into third place. Aaronson has a huge summer ahead where he will be competing for a spot on his parent team, Eintracht Frankfurt, as they will likely be in the Champions League next season.

 

Kelman moves into League One scoring lead

 

British-born American forward Charlie Kelman, 23, scored twice for Leyton Orient on Saturday in a 3-1 over Crawley Town.

The two goals put Kelman atop the League One scoring table with 19 goals, which is one better than two players who have 18. In all competitions, Kelman has 21 goals this season and is now one of the better goalscorers of England’s lower tiers.

Leyton Orient is still three points out of the League One playoffs, but Kelman has put himself into a great position for his future regardless of whether Leyton Orient is promoted. He is at the club on loan from second-tier Queens Park Rangers.

The likely bet is that he is in the Championship next season but there is also the potential that MLS teams also show interest.

 

Plenty of bad news also from Europe

 

In the Premier League, Chris Richards scored but it was a day to forget for Crystal Palace as it lost to Manchester City 5-2. Matt Turner was sick and didn’t take his usual seat on the bench. 

In France’s Ligue 1, Mark McKenzie and Toulouse lost for the fourth time in a row when they were on the wrong end of a 2-1 decision at home to Lille. Toulouse overachieved for most of the season due to its defense. But lately they have started to bleed more goals than before. 

Jordan Pefok and Reims got a needed 2-0 win over Lens to move outside the relegation playoff position of Ligue 1. Pefok started for Reims but was pulled at halftime. 

In Spain’s LaLiga, Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Villarreal after scoring the opening goal early. It was a missed opportunity for Betis to remain in the hunt for a Champions League position and instead now sits in sixth place. Cardoso played for 71 minutes.

In Germany’s Bundesliga, Joe Scally and Borussia Monchengladbach dropped a 2-1 decision at home to Freiburg. A win would have left M’Gladbach in fifth place, just a point from the Champions League positions but the loss left it in seventh place and out of European play altogether. From an individual perspective, it was a quiet game for Scally who has been solid this season. 

In the 2.Bundesliga, it was a terrible day for the two Americans involved in the promotion hunt. Santiago Castaneda, 20, was sent off for Paderborn in the 63rd minute with a straight red card as his club lost 2-1 at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Paderborn has now tumbled to seventh place. 

Damion Downs and Cologne played Greuther Furth to a 1-1 tie away. Downs, 20, played the second half and had two big chances to score, hitting the post once. It was a winnable game for Cologne, which sits in second place and has a four-point grip on automatic promotion. 

In Italy’s Serie B, there was no good news from the weekend to report for the three American players involved in the promotion race. Palermo dropped a 2-1 decision away to Bari and Kristoffer Lund played 89 minutes at left back for Palermo while Wisconsin-born forward Andrija Novakovich did not get off the bench for Bari in the win. Jonathan Klinsmann did not have to make a single save for Cesena in a 1-1 draw with Frosinone.

The results left Palermo in seventh place with 45 points, Bari in eighth place with 44 points, and Cesena in ninth place with 44 points (and a worse goal differential than Bari) with spots three through eight making the promotional playoffs.  

In Poland’s top tier, Leon Flach started for Jagiellonia Bialystok in a 1-0 win over Legia Warsaw. The former Philadelphia Union defensive midfielder had to be subbed out in just the fifth minute due to an injury. Jagiellonia Bialystok ended the weekend in 3rd place, one point out of second place and four points behind leaders Rakow Czestochowa.

 

MLS Thoughts

 

It was a busy week in MLS,  here are my thoughts on the domestic front.

 

The Vancouver story is great

 

Vancouver has rolled past Saprissa, Monterrey, and Pumas to advance to the semifinals of CONCACAF. They also have 19 points from eight games for the best record in the league to start the season. Most recently, the Caps demolished Austin 5-1 in an ugly romp where Brian White scored four goals.

Think about this:

  • They’re not struggling in the league despite making a CONCACAF run. Think about how much LAFC, Toronto, Seattle, Montreal, and Columbus have struggled in MLS during their CONCACAF final runs.
  • They’ve done all this without the injured Ryan Gauld, who is arguably their best player.
  • They rotate squads. Brian White didn’t start the second leg against Pumas. Sebastian Berhalter didn’t start against Austin.
  • It’s not a bought team, but rather there is a lot of great development of American and Canadian talent. It is going to be a huge contrast when they face Miami
  • They are fun to watch. They score exciting goals, they get behind defenses, they are aggressive.

You hope that the city of Vancouver can really get behind this team in 2025 because this is the high point of this organization’s existence in MLS. Jesper Sorensen is pushing all the right buttons since his arrival.

They are punching above weight, but the Caps should be even better when Gauld returns. It’s a great story in MLS and the coming two games against Miami will be a lot of fun.

 
Red Bulls and Orlando

 

Someone passed me a stat over the weekend that shows that Brian White since RBNY traded him away, he has scored more goals than the top RBNY forwards combined. That includes designated players Patrick Klimala, Dante Vanzier, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, as well as others like Elias Manoel and Tom Barlow. There have been some bad trades in league history but what makes this the worst is that the Red Bulls have continued to dump money to fix that hole and have thus far been unsuccessful. It hasn’t just been a bad trade, it’s been an expensively bad trade.

Against Orlando, Chupo-Moting again failed to score from the run of play. The Red Bulls made a nice run to the final last year but needed to make a boost in their attack to remain a top Eastern team. That hasn’t happened and, in fact, things have gotten worse. Dante Vanzier was playing better towards the end of 2024.

Unless Chupo-Moting starts scoring non-penalty goals, things will be tough for the Red Bulls.

As for Orlando, they’re fine. They likely would have won this game if not for the red card.

 

Bouanga scores, finally

 

LAFC didn’t play particularly well in its most recent 2-1 win over San Jose, but the biggest news is that Denis Bouanga finally scored. With him struggling to start the season, LAFC has looked ordinary. This LAFC team doesn’t have as many scoring options as previous years and if Bouanga is out of form, it’s a big problem. This team needs work but if Bouanga is playing better, it buys them time.

 

Cincinnati inching back to full health

 

In the recent 1-0 win over DC United, Matt Miazga played for the first time since his injury last year. It was only the last few minutes, but it’s a start. Cincy made a lot of changes in the offseason and things are still coming together. But they still have 16 points despite not being that convincing. But they’re ahead of the curve and this win showed that they can still win even without their best game.

They’re much more ahead of curve than Atlanta.

 

Atlanta still in a bad spot

 

In my preseason pick, I had Atlanta first in the East. I would love to have that one back. Their latest setback was a 1-0 loss at home to an improving Revolution team.

Atlanta can’t work the ball through the midfield well and possessions are dying with turnovers or with shots that aren’t dangerous. It’s early in the season and just a few wins here or there changes everything in this league. But they’re still playing like a preseason team.

 

NYCFC gets past Philly

 

It will be a lot of fun when NYCFC moves into its own stadium. Right now, they seem to have the feel of just a travelling team that doesn’t have much support. Some years they are good, others they are bad but there is a ton of potential with this team that can only be realized when they get out of playing at either Yankee Stadium, Citi Field, or Red Bull Arena.

This year, they look pretty good during what has been a tough schedule in the first third of the season. Saturday’s 1-0 win over Philadelphia was the best NYCFC have looked all season.

Full credit to Jonathan Shore, the American teenager (2007-born), who has given the team a lot of two-way capabilities in central midfield. He’s certainly an exciting prospect. I can see him emerging as a U.S. U-20 option ahead of the World Cup this September (he’s also eligible for the next cycle as well).

As for Philadelphia, the sale of Daniel Gazdag is huge. It was a lot of money but it needs to be asked what is the plan for his replacement? Philadelphia has a nice base of players and Bradley Carnell is doing well, but this cannot be the final version of the team if they want to compete again in the Eastern Conference. It’s about upgrades and the one point from the last three games accurately reflect that.

 

Gazdag debuts for Columbus

 

Philadelphia’s state gives a good lead-in for Columbus. This was a team that needed an upgrade after selling Cucho Hernandez. Acquiring Gazdag is a good move as he can score in this league and thrives if he is surrounded by a talented team. The fact that Columbus remained in first place after Cucho (along with losing Aidan Morris last season) is a testament to Wilfried Nancy, who continues to prove himself as one of the best coaches in the league.

But now Columbus made the right move to start upgrading and Gazdag looked at home in Sunday’s 2-1 away win over St. Louis. It’s a safe bet that the Crew will be in contention in the fall. Nancy now has a lot to work with.

 

Chicago continues progress

 

Gregg Berhalter has a big job ahead in Chicago in trying to get this team back to being relevant again for the first time in over 15 years. The first eight games have shown a lot of progress, even if a lot of work remains to be done. The 0-0 draw with Inter Miami is a good result and keeping Messi and friends off the scoresheet isn’t easy.

What’s been interesting about Chicago is that ownership has and continues to spend a lot of money. This isn’t the same as DC United’s struggles where spending is far behind. Chicago wants to be good, and for the first time in a long time it looks like decisions are starting to work.

Look at the output that Xherdan Shaqiri is having now with Basel in Switzerland. He has 13 goals and 14 assists in 28 games. He was also a bust in Chicago, which couldn’t make anything work. His current performance reflects the problems Berhalter is trying to fix – namely that for years the Fire was a huge talent drain for everyone on it.

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