Mark_mckenzie_-_asn_top_-_toulouse_vs._le_havre_-_9-15-24
Americans abroad

Pulisic, Robinson, McKenzie, and Vazquez standout in mixed weekend for Yanks abroad

ASN's Brian Sciaretta is here with his Monday column breaking down the weekend for Americans aborad and offering up his thoughts and analysis. This was the first weekend being watched by Mauricio Pochettino as the national team head coach. What might he have seen?
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 16, 2024
1:10 AM

THE WEEKEND FOR AMERICANS abroad did not have too many highlights. Most of the USMNT players who returned to their clubs from international duty saw their minutes managed, and a few didn’t even see the field. The lone exception, however, was Christian Pulisic who is the best American in the game and an integral part of AC Milan. He did not look tired from the international break and put in a great performance in a win over Venezia.

There were plenty of other positives to report. Antonee Robinson didn’t play for the USMNT over the recent window, and he was excellent for Fulham in a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa. Tim Weah returned from injury and played for Juventus in a scoreless draw with Empoli.

It was a very good sign for the USMNT that Mark McKenzie made a very good impression on Sunday for Toulouse in a win over Le Havre. The U.S. team needs more central defenders who are playing well.

Another note is that Brandon Vazquez put in a very strong shift for Monterrey to help deliver an away win over Santos Laguna. He is another player who is looking to make inroads up the USMNT depth chart.

And yes, there were plenty of struggles as well – or causes for concern. Weston McKennie, Chris Richards, Ethan Horvath, Johnny Cardoso, Luca de la Torre, Auston Trusty,

 

Yanks in the Premier League

 

It was a heartbreaking result for Fulham on Saturday when they surrendered a late equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time at home to share the points with West Ham in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage. Fulham took the lead in the 24th minute and looked to be heading to a win in a London Derby, but couldn’t hang on at the very end.

The good news, however, is that Antonee Robinson had a very good outing as he was given the international window from the USMNT and remained in London to rest. He had a gut-busting outing where he got forward, swung in three dangerous crosses – one resulting in a dangerous chance, was 2/3 in dribbles, 3/4 in crosses, 3/5 in long balls, he won 8/13 of his ground duels, and won 2/2 in his aerials.

 

Like clockwork, he is consistently one of the best American players in the game.

Both Chris Richards and Matt Turner were unused substitutes for Crystal Palace on Saturday in a 1-1 draw with Leicester City. The duo were both returning from international duty where they played on Tuesday night with the USMNT. Turner is expected to be a backup at Palace but Richards is in a race to maintain regular playing time for his club. From a USMNT perspective, it is very important that he does so given the limited depth of the player pool at that position.

Tyler Adams continues to recover from back surgery and was out for Bournemouth in its 1-0 loss at home to Chelsea.

After being named the Premier League’s manager of the month, Fabian Hurzeler saw his Bright & Hove Albion side held to a 0-0 draw by Ipswich. The Houston-born manager still has his team without a loss to start the season.

 

Yanks in the Championship

 

Brenden Aaronson was named the Player of the Month for Leeds United on Friday but he earned a start for Saturday’s game at home against Burnley. The New Jersey native and former Philadelphia Union product created a pair of chances but struggled with the physicality of the game. He’s had two very good passes that created quality chances for his teammate, the first forced a very good save. Overall, a decent outing from Aaronson but it’s a tough league to win duels given the physicality. That will be a challenge for Aaronson.

Leeds ended up losing 1-0 and Burnley’s goal was scored by Connecticut native but Italian U-21 winger Luca Koleosho. It was a remarkable 70 yard run down the field where he beat several Leeds defenders. Koleosho remains eligible for the U.S. and Canada via a one-time switch.



Aidan Morris returned from USMNT duty but was on the bench for Middlesbrough on Saturday for a 1-1 draw with Preston North End. Morris came off the bench in the 78th minute and was strong. He was 17/18 in his passes – with 18 touches. He played three balls into the final third. Morris has done very well since arriving in England from Columbus. He will surely return to the starting XI next game.

Duane Holmes came off the bench in the 68th minute for Preston North End and had only four touches and was 2/2 in passing in what was a very quiet shift.

Haji Wright played the final 25 minutes for Coventry in a 1-1 away draw with Watford on Saturday. Like most players returning from international duty, he didn’t start this weekend. But he still was dangerous in his time on the field. He had two shots but will surely feel he could have done better with his header in the 74th minute when it hit the left post. In the 90th minute, he had another header miss just wide, this time coming off a set piece. But Wright was dangerous and active in a limited shift. Coventry are off to a sluggish start with just five points from five games.

Despite not playing for the USMNT over the September window where he was called up, but slightly injured, Josh Sargent was able to go a full 90 minutes on Saturday for Norwich. It is good that he is playing, but the bad news is that Norwich was blanked away to Swansea in a 1-0 loss. Sargent will feel disappointed that he didn’t score. In the fifth minute, he had a right-footed shot blocked from only about 10 yards out. In the 16th minute, Sargent had a shot from just inside the box saved. Then in the 84th minute, Sargent nearly equalized but his close shot from deep inside the box was saved.

 

Typically, Sargent will bury at least one of these chances. Today was not that day.

Lynden Gooch started in an attacking midfield position for Stoke City away at Oxford United but was forced out due to an injury in the 33rd minute. He was struggling up to that point as well. Stoke City ended up dropping a 1-0 decision and now have six points from five games.

Ethan Horvath returned from USMNT duty, where he didn’t play, to sit on the bench as Cardiff City’s backup goalkeeper. Cardiff still dropped a 1-0 decision away to Derby County and remain in last place as a result. Cardiff City has one point from five games with a -10 goal differential.

This is going to be very interesting to watch Mauricio Pochettino figure out. Does he call-up goalkeepers when it jeopardizes their club situation? This is coming at a time when several American goalkeepers are not in a good situation.

 

Yanks in League One

 

American forward Charlie Kelman, 22, scored his second goal of the season for Leyton Orient in a 1-0 away win over Reading FC on Saturday. Kelman’s shot in the 27th minute found the back of the net but should have been saved as Reading goalkeeper Coniah Boyce-Clarke was unable to hang onto the ball. The win was the first points of the season for Leyton Orient, which now have three points from five games.

 

Gaga Slonina got the start in goal and Donovan Pines got the start in central defense for Barnsley, but neither American was able to prevent Barnsley from dropping a 3-0 away decision to Stevenage. It was a game to forget for both players as Pines was pulled at halftime, for the second straight game, and Slonina only made one save – and at least one of his goals should have been saved. It was the worst performance of the season for Barnsley which fell to seventh place with 10 points from six games.

 

Yanks in the Bundesliga

 

In an unlikely matchup of the first two teams in the Bundesliga after two weeks, Borussia Dortmund downed Heidenheim 4-2 on Friday night. American Lennard Maloney went 86 minutes for Heidenheim and didn’t do much offensively or in possession, at all. Instead, he was tasked with being a disruptive presence in the midfield. He was caught out of position slightly on Dortmund’s opening goal but otherwise didn’t have a noteworthy presence.

Meanwhile, Gio Reyna will miss the next few weeks with a groin injury that forced him to leave the USMNT September camp early.

Joe Scally was one of the few USMNT players to play over the window and start this weekend for his club. He even managed to play all 90 minutes for Borussia Monchengladbach at home against Stuttgart, but unfortunately could not stop a 3-1 loss at home. There wasn’t too much to say about his outing as he didn’t really stand out – for better or for worse – as his team was overmatched.

Wolfsburg fell at home to Eintracht Frankfurt by a 2-1 score. Kevin Paredes was out injured for Wolfsburg while veteran Timmy Chandler was not in the matchday squad for Eintracht. Paredes remains one to watch as a potential young USMNT player under Mauricio Pochettino. He needs to get healthy quickly and should be due back later in September.

Union Berlin was lucky to hold onto a 0-0 draw away at RB Leipzig on Saturday as the hosts had 68% possession and 14 shots. Jordan Pefok came off the bench in the 56th minute and was useful with his hold up play, drawing a foul in the 80th minute. But he didn’t have a shot and just one out of his 19 touches was in the Leipzig box. Union now has five points from three games.

Manager Pellegrino Matarazzo saw his Hoffenheim team outclassed at home by reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen. The gap between these teams is wide and it showed.

 

Yanks in the 2.Bundesliga

Damion Downs scored for the second straight game for Cologne but his team was unable to hang onto lead after scoring the opener and ended up dropping a 2-1 decision at home to Magdeburg.

Downs scored the first goal of the game in the 49th minute when a sloppy Magdeburg turnover sprung a counterattack. Downs was able to get in front of the goal and finish a pass from close range. In the subsequent minutes he would hit the post and force two good saves. He was replaced in the 76th minute with the score 1-1 and watched as Magdeburg found a winner 10 minutes later. Koln sit eighth place with seven points from five games.



Downs, 19, is a talented young forward who has athleticism but is still raw. Koln’s relegation has given him an opportunity to play regularly but he will need to score at a regular pace given the pressures of a club like Koln to get promoted. He has the ability to do that. If he does, maybe he gets a USMNT look if players like Balogun and Pepi continue to struggle. A young forward playing and scoring is always in a great place, whether it be MLS or the 2.Bundesliga. It doesn’t have to be one of the big five leagues.

Santiago Castaneda went 90 minutes and put in a good shift for Paderborn on Friday in a 3-3 away draw at Preussen Munster. Paderborn remain undefeated through five games in the 2.Bundesliga but this game felt like a loss as they took the lead in the 86th minute only to concede an equalizer in stoppage time. After two wins to start the season, Paderborn have drawn their last three.

Castaneda, 19, was 43/48 in passing, had two long shots, and 10 passes into the final third.

Johan Gomez played the final 18 minutes of Eintracht Braunschweig’s 1-1 away draw with Darmstadt. It was an impressive draw for Braunschweig who was reduced to 10 men in the 30th minute but found an 86th minute equalizer. Braunschweig still sits last in the 2.Bundesliga and this was their first point of the season, which just completed its fifth round.

Both Julian Green and Max Dietz went the distance for Greuther Furth in a 0-0 draw with Elversburg to finish the weekend in sixth place. Green played in central midfield and Dietz was on the left side of a three-man backline. Green was one of the most dangerous players in the game but his final ball let him down. Dietz had some decent distribution out of the back but was overall mostly quiet.

John Brooks is out with an injury for the next several weeks and missed Hertha BSC’s 2-0 loss at home to Fortuna Dusseldorf. Hertha sit ninth with seven points from five games.

Jahn Regensburg head coach and Sacramento native Joe Enochs saw his club get blown out by Hamburg 5-0 away on Sunday. The club has three points from five games (all from a win in the second round of the season) and a -12 goal differential. To put it nicely, Enochs has work to do.

 

Yanks in Serie A


The two best American players in Europe this weekend were Antonee Robinson and Christian Pulisic and Pulisic probably easily had the best performance among the USMNT players who returned from international duty with the USMNT. The Hershey native was superb for AC Milan on Saturday in a 4-0 romp over a Venezia team which saw recent U.S. Olympian Gianluca Busio making his first start of the season for the club after his injury in Paris this summer.

In the 16tth minute, Pulisic hit a perfect inswinging corner kick that was sent into the goal with a glancing header from Youssouf Fofana for a 2-0 lead.

Then in the 22nd minute, Tammy Abraham was fouled in the box to give AC Milan a penalty. Pulisic elected to take the penalty and he converted for a 3-0 lead.

In the 51st minute, Pulisic hit a free kick from the right side where Matteo Gabbia then saw his shot via a header saved.

Overall, a goal and an assist for Pulisic where he was one of the best players on the field until being subbed out in the 79th minute. He was the engine for Milan’s first win of the season and the first time the club has looked like a top team under the new coaching staff.


In another note, Yunus Musah came into the game in the 74th minute when the result was no longer in doubt, but he was smooth with his passing, completing 24/25 attempts.

On the other end, Busio was a bright spot on what was a poor effort from Venezia. In the 70th minute Venezia thought they had a goal from Francesco Zampano that was assisted by Busio. VAR took the goal away, however, due to a foul in the build-up. But Busio had some nice moments with the ball and helping in possession. But he and his teammates were overmatched defensively.

Staying in Serie A, Tim Weah returned to the field for Juventus after a hamstring injury forced him to miss the last two games and then the international window with the USMNT. Juventus traveled to face Empoli on Saturday and Weah was part of a quadruple substitution in the 67th minute as Juventus was in the middle of a lethargic performance in a 0-0 quagmire.

Weah had some nice moments, including a perfect 13/13 passing effort, but didn’t create anything dangerous and was not particularly effective with his dribble – with a few touches letting him down. His best work came defensively when he won 3/4 of his duels and forced a few turnovers to win possession for Juventus.

The news wasn’t as great for Weston McKennie who did not get off the bench despite being allowed to remain with his club during the last international window. His future playing time this season is tough to figure out. Is he being eased into Motta’s plans or is he not in the picture? There are also questions about pictures over the international break that showed his shoulder in a brace as the team arrived at practice. That has not been explained by the club.



The game ended 0-0 and Weah returning to the starting lineup doesn’t seem out of the question. Juventus returns to the Champions League this week when they host PSV Eindhoven. Potentially five Americans could take part in that game.

 

Yanks in Serie B

 

Fresh after returning from international duty with the U.S. national team, Kristoffer Lund was on the bench for Palermo in a visit to Juve Stabia just outside of Naples. He came off the bench in the 72nd minute with Palermo up 2-1 and was on the field for the final goal, a penalty for Palermo as the game finished 3-1. The USMNT backup left back had only 8 touches but was 3/3 in passing, creating a dangerous chance with a cross late in the game. He was also 1/1 in ground duels and 1/1 in tackles with two clearances. He will likely return to the starting lineup next weekend. After a poor start to the season with two straight losses, Palermo now has seven points from five total games.

Andrija Novakovich played the final 38 minutes for Bari in a 2-0 win over Mantova. He was 6/6 in passing and worked hard but missed a good chane in the 78th minute when his header from close range missed the goal to the left. With he win, Bari climbed to 15th place with five points from five games.

 

Yanks in La Liga

 

Johnny Cardoso returned from international duty and did not get off the bench for Real Betis on Friday in a 2-0 win over Leganes. The win was the first on the season for Real Betis and they now have five points from the first four games of the season.

Celta Vigo moved into fourth place with a 3-1 win over Real Valladolid on Sunday. It’s a big improvement for the club but Luca de la Torre continues to not be in the plans of the new coaching staff – nor does he seem likely of breaking into their plans. He was not in the squad for this game and he must put a lot of energy into finding a new club in January.

 

Yanks in Ligue 1

 

Mark McKenzie had one of the most important performances among Americans in Europe this weekend as he played all 90 minutes for Toulouse in a 2-0 win over Le Havre. The U.S. team needs more top American central defenders in Europe and in MLS. The player pool is thin at the position and McKenzie’s development after his move from Belgium to France is very important to the national team.

McKenzie’s second start for the club, this Sunday, was much better than his first. Playing against Le Havre, McKenize put in a very strong effort to help keep the cleansheet. The game was scoreless until the 70th minute and could have gone either way.

Most significantly, McKenzie won just about everything that came his way – 3/3 on ground duels, 4/5 on aerials, five clearances, and 2/2 on tackles.



This was the type of effort you want to see from McKenzie on a consistent basis. Toulouse now sits midtable with five points from four games.

On the flip side, Emmanuel Sabbi started for Le Havre on the wings but was replaced in the 61st minute and never really got going. He had just one touch in the Toulouse box.

Folarin Balogun is having a very difficult time scoring at the start of the Ligue 1 season. He is still yet to find the back of the next in Monaco’s first four league games. That’s the bad news. The good news is at least he is close.

On Saturday, the USMNT striker entered the game for Monaco in the 64th minute when they had a 2-0 away lead on Auxerre. Two minutes after coming on, Monaco had a dangerous counterattack and Balogun was played into the box in a dangerous position to score. Unfortunately for him, his right footed shot was saved with a great effort from Auxerre keeper Donovan Leon.

Balogun failed to score in this game, but he will likely continue to get chances – probably off the bench. If he can score off the bench, then the starts should follow. Monaco is heavily invested in Balogun and will likely give him every opportunity. But Balogun saw his goal Ligue 1 production go from 21 to seven last season and that should be a concern.

Given that he is close to scoring, it’s easy to see him as a streaky producer – although who knows when that streak will start, if it does.

But Monaco returns to the Champions League this week when they host Barcelona. There’s could be not greater stage for Balogun this season than that game.

Staying in Ligue 1, Caleb Wiley was not in the squad for Strasbourg after returning from international duty with the #USMNT. He watched as his team played Angers to a 1-1 draw.

Tanner Tessmann came off the bench in the 88th minute for Lyon in a 1-1 away draw with Lens. He continues his adjustment period after joining the club after preseason. He still managed six touches and was 2/2 in passing.

In a bit of a surprise, Kobi Henry made the bench for sixth-place Stade de Reims in a 2-1 away win over Nantes. He didn’t get off the bench but this is one of the more encouraging signs of his progress since he joined the club over two years ago – spending time with the reserve team and a loan to the third-tier.

 

Yanks in the Belgian Pro League

 

Westerlo had a positive result on Saturday when they played a strong Anderlecht to a 2-2 draw on the road in Brussels. Still, Westerlo is surely disappointing with not taking all three points after having a 2-1 lead into the 83rd minute before squandering an equalizer.

U.S. Olympic winger Griffin Yow started for Westerlo but was subbed out at the half. Bryan Reynolds, meanwhile, had a strong full 90 performance for Westerlo at right back.

Yow hit a very good shot from 30 yards that forced a save in the 15th minute and his slick dribbling drew a yellow card later in the half. Even with him working hard defensively, he was just 2/6 in passing for the opening half and that saw him get pulled.

Reynolds, meanwhile, had a complete performance at right back and created four chances, including three dangerous chances, while also defending well.

Reynolds is in an interesting situation. Marlon Fossey had a decent game for the USMNT against New Zealand, but Reynolds should compete favorably with Fossey as he stacks up statically strong against Fossey playing the same position in the same league.

Former Yale University forward Kahveh Zahiroleslam had an assist over 90 minutes as his St. Truiden defeated OH Leuven 2-1 on Sunday. In first half stoppage time, Zahiroleslam sent a perfect through ball to Adriano Bertaccini who converted the goal.

 

Zahiroleslam did not have a shot in the game but he was strong in the air and in his hold-up play. As a result, he was able to have a big part in the opening goal. St. Truiden sits in 14th place in the 16-team First Division.

Zahiroleslam now has three goals and two assists in 621 minutes this season across seven games.

Marlon Fossey was held out of Friday’s game for Standard Liege just days after making his USMNT debut in the draw with New Zealand. He watched as Standard easily defeated FCV Dender 2-0 on the road. Standard has 11 points from its first seven games to sit inside the top five.

Kayden Pierre is still yet to make a matchday squad after just joining Genk two weeks ago on a transfer from Sporting Kansas City. The American fullback was not in the squad for Genk on Saturday during a 3-2 away win over Cercle Brugge.

 

Yanks in the Danish Superliga

In the top tier of Danish soccer on Friday, Aalborg BK defeated Lyngby 2-1. Former NYCFC winger Andres Jasson played 79 minutes for AaB while Jonathan Amon went the full 90 for Lyngby. It was a heartbreaker for Lyngby as AaB found a winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Jasson was 27/29 in passing and shifted centrally in the second half where he was driving the offense to create chances. Amon, meanwhile, was very aggressive but was unable to create anything very dangerous. The win snapped a three-game losing streak for AaB which moved into 8th place.

Jose Gallegos made a rare appearance for SonderjyskE in a 2-0 loss to Brondby on Sunday. The former San Antonio FC No. 10 came into the game in the 72nd minute with his team down 1-0 at the time. The Texan had 11 touches and was 5/7 in passing but was not involved in anything dangerous in the loss. SonderjyskE sits 11th in the 12-team league.

 

Yanks in the Eredivisie

 

PSV Eindhoven continued its perfect start to the season after being gifted an easy schedule in the opening weeks. On Saturday PSV easily dispatched NEC Nijmegen with a 2-0 win. It was a score that flattered NEC which had just 23% possession. In addition to the possession edge, PSV outshot NEC 26-2. Both goals in this game were scored inside of the first 16 minutes and after that, the team just cruised.

 Malik Tillman played 67 minutes and was very good as he was regularly dangerous with the ball and was able to dribble past defenders and set up teammates, where he nearly had two assists if there was better finishing. He was playing as an inverted winger most of the time and was very effective in that role.

Richard Ledezma had a very busy and very productive day as he went the full 90 at right back. He had 115 touches, was 89/94 in passing which included 17 passes into the final third. In the 62nd minute he ripped a nice shot from distance which forced a save.

Ledezma will be very interesting to follow in the coming weeks once Rick Karsdorp is fit to play for PSV. Karsdorp recently moved from Roma to PSV and is a very experienced right back. Ledezma has shown a lot of promise at the position, but he has also been benefitting from the team’s weak schedule to start the season.

Ricardo Pepi played the final 23 minutes for PSV and only had six touches for 2/3 passing and no shots. He will certainly feel more pressure to play more with the USMNT player pool now all having a clean slate under Pochettino.

Elsewhere in the Eredivisie, Anthony Fontana was not in action for PEC Zwolle in a 1-1 away draw with FC Twente.

 

Eerste Divisie

 

In the Dutch second tier, FC Eindhoven played FC Dordrecht to a 0-0 draw on Friday night. American attacker Korede Osundina went 68 minutes for Dordrecht, which fell to seventh place through five games.

 

Yanks in Argentina’s Primera

 

Matko Miljevic grew up playing for Argentinos Juniors but his time at the club ended poorly as he was locked out of training for the last 15 month of his contract. He then moved to Montreal which also saw an ugly end. Now at Newell’s Old Boys, Miljevic, 23, returned to face Argentinos Juniors and was in the starting lineup for Newell’s Old Boys.

Unfortunately for Miljevic, he was quiet in his 81 minutes and never really was able to create anything while playing the No. 10.

Alan Sonora played the final six minutes for Huracan in a 1-0 loss to Deportivo Riestra on Friday night. It was a bad loss for Huracan, which sits fourth after 14 games.

 

Yanks in the Croatian HNL

 

In Croatia’s Eternal Derby played between the country’s biggest clubs, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, Hajduk Split came away with an impressive 1-0 away win over Dinamo to surge into first place after a sluggish start to the season. The win came against the run of play as Dinamo had 64% possession and a 19-10 edge in shots.

Rokas Pukstas, 20, started and played 67 minutes for Hajduk, although the score was 0-0 when he left. He was only 8/13 in passing with 26 touches. He worked hard to win most of his duels and aerials, but overall did not create much danger in this game as an attacking midfielder. His best chance came just before halftime when the Dinamo goalkeeper coughed up a rebound on a shot from distance, Pukstas had an opportunity to slam in a rebound but missed the target to the left.

 

Yanks in the Austrian Bundesliga

 

It was a tough game for George Bello at LASK, who lost to BW Linz 1-0 on Saturday. The American left back lost his man off a Linz cross in the 16th minute and LASK fell to the 11th place in the 12-team league after six rounds. Bello is coming off a strong season in 2023/24 but is off to a shaky start, along with nearly everyone else on LASK.

 

Yanks in Norway’s Eliteserien

 

Christian Cappis played the final seven minutes for Viking in a 1-0 win over KFUM Oslo on Saturday. The win kept Viking in second place in Norway’s top tier, although Molde remains in striking distance with a game in hand. Former Galaxy defender Adam Saldana did not get off the bench for KUFM.

 

Yanks in Finland’s Veikkausliiga

 

Finland’s top tier Veikkausliiga is now divided into two separate round robins, the Championship half and the relegation half. There are two Americans playing in the relegation half.

Former U.S. U-20 World Cup forward Justin Rennicks got the start for AC Oulu but left with an injury in the 27th minute of a 3-0 win over Lahti. The result puts them five points north of the relegation playoff position.

On Sunday, American goalkeeper AJ Marcucci started for IF Gnistan in a 2-1 win over IFK Mariehamn to move into first place of the relegation table. Winning that table would set up a playoff for a Conference League qualifying position. It was an easy day for Marcucci, who is at Gnistan on loan from the New York Red Bulls, as he didn’t have to make a save in the win.

 

Yanks in Poland’s Ekstraklasa

 

On Sunday, former Phoenix Rising forward Danny Trejo came off the bench for the last 16 minutes as his Korona Kielce team defeated Zaglebie Lubin 2-0 to move into 11th place in Poland’s top tier.

Ian Hoffman did not suit up for Lech Poznan in a 5-0 win over Jagiellonia Bialystok. The former Houston Dynamo fullback/winger has made one appearance for Lech Poznan this season as his club sits not sits atop the table.  

 

Yanks in Scotland

 

Celtic continued its perfect start to the Premiership season with a 2-0 win over Hearts on Saturday. With Celtic typically having a huge possession advantage in its games, USMNT central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is often asked to do more passing and circulating than defending. That was this case in the win over Hearts where Celtic had 71% of the ball.

Carter-Vickers had 118 touches and was 89/100 in passing including 4/6 with long balls and six balls played into the attacking third. Defensively, his numbers were impressive has he had six interceptions, four clearances, won 5/6 of his aerials, and won 2/3 of his ground dules.

For Carter-Vickers, the issue is how well will he do in the coming Champions League games?  Midweek Celtic hosts Slovan Bratislava in the tournament’s new format in the early rounds. That’s always the test. Neither him nor anyone on Celtic is tested often in Premiership games.

Celtic still hasn’t separated itself in the Premiership yet despite a perfect start. Instead of being chased by Rangers, Celtic is even on points with Aberdeen, which also has 15 points from five games. Those teams meet on October 19. American midfielder Dante Polvara will be aiming to return to Aberdeen’s lineup in the middle of the season after he recovers from an ACL surgery.

Auston Trusty was an unused substitute for Celtic and will aim to make his club debut in the coming weeks. If Trusty wants to make inroads with the USMNT, he needs to get on the field for his new club.

 

Yanks in Liga MX

 

Brandon Vazquez had a big day for Monterrey on Saturday night in a 2-0 away win over Santos Laguna. He scored the opening goal in the fourth minute and finished with six total shots. He was a handful to defend and, on most nights, he would have been pushing for a hat trick.

The goal was a nice one touch effort that was accurately placed into the top of the net. It was an impressive display of skill.



In addition, Vazquez was also really effective with his hold up play and in winning possession further up the field. If he can play like this consistently, he can make big strides in the USMNT player pool.

Alex Mendez did not get off the bench for FC Juarez in a 1-0 win over Mazatlan, who were without Ventura Alvarado in this game. Juarez was reduced to 10 men in the 54th minute and was able to hang on for the win. Juraez still sits 17th in the 18-team league.

Former U.S. U-20 midfielder Fernando Arce Jr. played all 90 minutes for Necaxa and he scored in the 70th minute to make it 2-0. He took advantage of an easy rebound from close range after a difficult save off a Necaxa header.

 

Toluca remained in second place of Liga MX following a dominant 4-0 win over Club Tijuana. Former New York Red Bull midfielder Frankie Amaya entered the game for Toluca in the 67th minute with his team up 3-0. Long-time veteran American midfielder Joe Corona started and played 61 minutes for Tijuana and was removed after his team fell behind by three goals.  

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