Category: Americans Abroad

McKennie reaches 10 assists as Juventus takes big step toward Coppa Italia final

The USMNT midfielder continued his standout campaign in the cup on Tuesday

Weston McKennie’s incredible season of assists continued on Tuesday, as the Juventus midfielder helped his side take a major step toward the Coppa Italia final.

Juventus defeated Lazio 2-0 in the first leg of the semifinal, with McKennie and Dušan Vlahović teaming up for the all-important second goal midway through the second half.

With Juve already up a goal, McKennie quickly helped the ball on with a one-touch pass for the striker, who carried the ball into the box before cutting onto his left foot and firing a shot into the far corner.

McKennie is tied for second in the Serie A assist chart with seven in league play, and the U.S. national team star has added three more in the Italian cup to reach double figures on the season — easily a career high for the 25-year-old.

Juventus will now take a two-goal advantage into the second leg, which will take place in Rome on April 23. The winner of the tie will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in the final on May 15.

Watch McKennie’s 10th assist of the season

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Pepi’s agent fires warning on lack of PSV minutes: ‘It can’t continue like this’

The USMNT forward has started just two games this season

Ricardo Pepi’s agent has sounded a warning over his client’s ongoing lack of minutes at PSV, saying “it can’t continue like this.”

Pepi has been productive in his first season at PSV, but has been forced to mostly watch from the bench as first-choice striker Luuk de Jong has put together a sensational campaign.

The U.S. men’s national team striker has appeared in 35 total games for PSV, but has only started twice. Still, Pepi has managed to score nine times, averaging a goal every 66 minutes he’s been on the pitch.

In an interview with Voetbal International, Pepi stressed the importance of staying patient while also maintaining that he is far from satisfied with the amount of time he’s been playing.

“I also talked to the coach about how I can get more playing time. He says that I have to stay patient and keep doing what I am doing, because there will be times when I can help the team and then I have to be ready,” Pepi said.

“It is of course difficult to be patient for so long. I feel good during training and when I come on the field, I regularly score. Then you want to explode as a striker. So it is difficult, but at the same time I knew that I wanted to go to PSV and that there would be several good attackers [there].”

The 21-year-old added: “I am not satisfied with my playing time, but I am satisfied with the goals I have scored.”

Pepi’s agent Jaime Garcia stressed that his client is happy at PSV, but also admitted that there was a sense of urgency to increase his minutes as he eyes a major role at the Copa América this summer and the World Cup in 2026.

“First of all, there is complete understanding, because Luuk de Jong is a phenomenon and we must take our hats off to his achievements,” Garcia said. “But at the same time, this season is not good enough for Ricardo. Ten percent of all playing time is of course far too little. He understands, is patient and congratulates Luuk, but for himself it is not enough. However, I have never met a player who was happy when he didn’t play.”

Garcia added: “If you play so little, you can also lose your place in the national team. With the Copa América this year and the World Cup in two years’ time in your own country, there are two great tournaments coming up. Ricardo wants and needs to be there. That’s why it can’t continue like this.

“He will have to take a step in his career. That’s just normal. Every player wants to continue to grow and reach his full potential. Ricardo obviously prefers to do that at PSV. Ricardo is far from home and he wants to have a home in Europe.”

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Pulisic’s father: It’s a misconception he disappointed at Chelsea

Mark Pulisic said that his son simply wasn’t given a consistent chance with the Blues

Christian Pulisic’s father has defended his son’s time at Chelsea, saying that it’s a “misconception” he disappointed with the Premier League giants.

Pulisic struggled to find consistent playing time during his spell in London, setting a career low in minutes last season before moving to AC Milan in the summer.

But the U.S. national team star also experienced his share of highs during his four years with Chelsea, as he scored 26 total goals and helped the Blues win the 2020-21 Champions League.

According to Mark Pulisic, his son didn’t disappoint at Chelsea as much as he simply wasn’t given a consistent chance to impress.

“For me it’s not true that Christian disappointed at Chelsea. He simply didn’t play regularly,” Mark said on his podcast, as recorded by Gazzetta dello Sport.

“For me he is now reaching his peak, he is 25 years old, he works hard to develop his game and is respected by his teammates.”

Pulisic has thrived in his first season in Milan, receiving the consistent minutes he never could while at Chelsea. The USMNT star has already set a career high in goals with 12 while starting almost every week.

Pulisic’s father credited Milan coach Stefano Pioli for giving his son the latitude to make mistakes, as well as some former Chelsea teammates for helping him adjust to the Rossoneri.

“Christian has had everyone’s trust,” he said. “Pioli trusts him, he always lets him play and doesn’t immediately replace him if things go wrong. Then he likes Milan and he always speaks well of his teammates. Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud helped him a lot when it came to choosing Milan.”

Though Pulisic is thriving in Milan, his father stopped short of saying that he could stay for the rest of his career. The forward’s time at Chelsea taught him that nothing in the game is permanent.

“Football changes quickly and we have understood for some time that this is a business. You can only think in the short term,” Mark said.

Still, Pulisic’s father insisted his son has no desire to go anywhere else in the near future.

“Let’s be clear: Christian loves Milan and wants to stay. He lives in Busto Arsizio to be close to Milanello (Milan’s training center). He’s learning to speak Italian and he gets on very well with teammates like Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Yunus Musah.”

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Balogun back among the goals with brace as Monaco trounces Metz

It’s badly-needed good news for Balogun, who helped Monaco claim a dominant win

The good news for the U.S. men’s national team just keeps coming.

Folarin Balogun emerged from a tepid run of form to score twice as Monaco thumped Metz 5-2 in Ligue 1 on Saturday.

Balogun came off the bench to score his brace, making him the first American man in a top-five European league to do that since Charlie Davies did so for Sochaux in 2009.

The goals come on the heels of a dominant win over Mexico in the Concacaf Nations League final, and just hours after Tyler Adams came through a 90-minute match unscathed for the first time in just over a year.

For Balogun, the goals will come as a particular relief. The striker entered the match having scored just two times in his last 12 Monaco appearances, and head coach Adi Hütter removed him from penalty-taking duties after multiple high-profile misses from the spot.

That added up to a start on the bench for the 21-year-old, with Wissam Ben Yedder leading the line for the principality-based club as a lone forward. However, Hütter turned to the USMNT striker in the 65th minute, sending him on for Eliesse Ben Seghir.

With the scoreline 3-0 at the time, Balogun could have just gone through the motions, but his effort quite literally made Monaco’s fourth goal.

A spell of pressure put Metz into a bad spot, with goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja receiving a pass as Monaco pushed numbers forward in the 76th minute.

Balogun’s hard running did the rest, allowing him to block Oukidja’s ill-advised attempt to chop the ball back from where it came, with the ball caroming off the USMNT man and over the line.

Perhaps stung through the embarrassing nature of that goal, Metz replied with two goals in short order. However, before Monaco had to truly sweat, Balogun struck again, sweeping home after Thilo Kehrer’s flick-on caught Metz out on a corner kick.

The double takes Balogun up to eight goals in 25 total appearances this season for Monaco, to go along with five assists.

Watch Balogun’s brace for Monaco

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Tyler Adams shines in first full 90-minute appearance in over a year

Adams came through unscathed, and was one of the best players on the pitch as the Cherries claimed a win

Sometimes in life, it’s the simple things that are truly worth savoring.

Take for example Tyler Adams, who played a full 90 minutes for Bournemouth in a 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday.

The U.S. men’s national team midfielder getting through one entire game of soccer without issue — or even playing well, as Adams did — is normally not a story.

However, for Adams it was the latest step in an encouraging return from an injury nightmare. The 25-year-old had not come through a 90-minute stint in over a year, with his last such full shift coming all the way back on March 11, 2023 with Leeds.

Adams suffered a hamstring injury in training the following week, eventually undergoing surgery on the problem. Adams would change clubs in the summer, moving from Leeds to Bournemouth, but a September debut off the bench for the Cherries effectively set him back to square one after a recurrence of the same issue.

The USMNT star made his second return on March 13, coming off the bench in a 4-3 Bournemouth win over Luton Town, and Gregg Berhalter took the gamble of calling Adams up for the Concacaf Nations League finals.

While Berhalter drew criticism for that choice from Adams’ former coach Jesse Marsch, it’s safe to say things worked out. The headline item is a spectacular goal against Mexico, but the USMNT stint also served to accelerate Adams’ return to full match fitness in a way that training with Bournemouth wouldn’t have allowed.

That set the stage for a classic Adams showing at the Vitality Stadium, in which the New York native was all over the pitch.

Data from Sofascore bolsters the case that Adams wasn’t just back on the field, but truly looked like his old self. He won seven of eight ground duels on the day, and his four interceptions led all players from both teams.

Adams also posted four successful tackles (joint-best, alongside Everton’s Ben Godfrey), and attempted more passes (46) than any other Bournemouth player.

In other words, Adams isn’t just back. He’s back.

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USWNT’s Macario says return from injury ‘feels like a dream, like a miracle’

Macario admitted she had doubts about her future, but is now looking to enjoy her soccer

Catarina Macario may still be in the early stages of her career at the highest level, but after 20 months on the sideline, she’s gained the kind of perspective associated with a veteran.

The U.S. women’s national team forward was sidelined for over 20 months after suffering a torn ACL in June 2022, with multiple setbacks costing her a World Cup and a full European season.

Even after a summer move to Chelsea, Macario only made her Blues debut on March 3, scoring in a 4-0 win over Leicester.

Speaking to The Guardian, Macario emphasized that such a difficult battle to return to the field redefined so much about how she thinks about her career.

“Before the injury I’d be really nervous before big games: ‘I don’t want to mess up, I just want to be able to perform well for my team,” said Macario. “Sometimes I almost got too much in my own head to the point that I wouldn’t be able to perform, really.

“But I feel like now, since the injury, I’m just grateful to be on the pitch again and just to have legs.”

Macario is still very much in the early stages of her return, and is not expected to start Sunday’s Continental Cup final against Arsenal. Thus far, Chelsea boss Emma Hayes (who will soon enough be evaluating the 24-year-old for USWNT duty) has been peppering Macario into matches, calling on her as a substitute in each of the club’s last five games.

The USWNT star has responded quickly, posting a goal and two assists in just 105 minutes as Chelsea advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League while also inching ahead of Manchester City atop the Women’s Super League standings on goal difference.

“My first game back I was able to score and you could see the joy in everyone,” recalled Macario. “That meant so much. Even though we had trained together for a while, it felt like such a big celebration. It really was such a genuine moment and so emotional too that I could literally not imagine being part of another team.”

Macario hopes for ‘fun’ Continental Cup final

Despite the big stage that is a final between two of the giants of European women’s soccer, Macario maintains that for her to succeed, she has to focus on having a good time first and foremost.

“I know that it’s a big game, but I personally don’t really think about it that way any more,” said Macario. “You’re supposed to do the work for [a final] before you get to this point, so let’s just have some fun.”

Macario indicated that she has a massive amount of gratitude for the Chelsea medical team for seeing her through what was a murky, challenging return to full fitness.

“Our head of performance one day told me, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever spent so much time focused on one player, but we’re doing this just to try to get it right for you so that you can be healthy in the long term, and be able to contribute for us,’ explained Macario.

“That’s something that I really appreciate, and I honestly could never repay them. I did at times think, ‘Will I be able to play at that level again?’ There were definitely a lot of doubts. They just reassured me a lot.

“A lot of times I didn’t believe them. That’s why now everything just feels like a dream, like a miracle.”

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Sargent returns with another Norwich goal after missing USMNT duty

The USMNT forward continued his incredible campaign with a goal vs. Plymouth

Josh Sargent’s incredible season continued on Friday, as the Norwich City striker fired home another goal in his side’s 2-1 comeback win over Plymouth.

Sargent scored his 14th goal of the campaign midway through the second half, equalizing the match off a well-worked routine from a corner kick. Seven minutes later, the Canaries took the lead for good thanks to a Plymouth own goal.

With the win, Norwich made it seven straight victories at home and maintained its spot in the sixth and final playoff position in the Championship table.

Sargent’s 14-goal haul is made even more impressive by the fact he missed four months of the season with an ankle injury. Despite all that time on the sideline, only five players in the Championship have more goals this season than the Missouri native.

After receiving his first call-up since the 2022 World Cup, Sargent was forced off the U.S. men’s national team roster this month with an ankle injury.

The 24-year-old didn’t end up missing any club matches, however, as he was able to return in Norwich’s first game following the international break.

Meanwhile, Sargent’s replacement on the USMNT roster, Haji Wright, also found the net on Friday, as the Coventry City striker scored his 14th of the season in his side’s 3-1 win over Huddersfield.

Watch Sargent’s goal vs. Plymouth

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Iraola: Adams ready to ramp up Bournemouth minutes after USMNT exploits

The USMNT midfielder is looking to start his first club game in a year

Bournemouth head coach Andoni Iraola has said Tyler Adams is ready to ramp up his minutes after a successful return with the U.S. men’s national team.

After a hamstring injury kept him out for the better part of a year, Adams made his Bournemouth return right before the international break, before playing his first USMNT minutes since the 2022 World Cup.

Adams played in both of the USMNT’s Nations League matches, going 40 minutes in the semifinal against Jamaica before playing the first half and scoring a sensational goal in the final against Mexico.

The 25-year-old seems to have returned to England no worse for the wear, as Iraola said he is ready to continue building up his minutes as the Premier League season enters its final stretch.

“I think he’s improving a lot,” Iraola said at a press conference. “He’s in the process of adding minutes. He played 45 minutes in two different games [during the international break] and he finished with good feelings. I think he’s available to play the same amount or even more minutes.”

Bournemouth hosts Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, as Adams aims to start his first club game since March 2023.

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Did Reyna’s USMNT exploits earn him more minutes at Nottingham Forest? Nuno says…maybe

Nuno liked what he saw out of Reyna with the USMNT, but didn’t commit to giving him more minutes at Forest

Gio Reyna’s star showing for the U.S. men’s national team in its Concacaf Nations League triumph was impressive, but it’s not clear whether it will matter much to Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo.

The Forest boss was asked on Thursday whether Reyna’s performance with the USMNT could help him crack the club’s lineup after playing just 39 of a possible 810 minutes since joining the club on loan from Borussia Dortmund this winter.

Nuno acknowledged Reyna’s excellent work with the U.S., but wasn’t ready to commit to any increase in playing time.

“Reyna, very happy, because he was [named Best Player in the Concacaf Nations League] and he did very well,” Nuno told reporters when asked about the status of Forest’s returning internationals. “So we need all the players, because we have a hard [road], and we need all of them.”

When a reporter asked directly about whether Reyna’s showings in Texas might push him into the team for Saturday’s clash with Crystal Palace, Nuno indulged in some classic coach-speak.

“We’re gonna see more of everybody!” insisted Nuno. “Because we need all of them, all of them. They are aware that now is not important to to get any feeling of selfishness. Selfish? No. It’s all about the team, and if you play one minute, it’s for the team.”

The manager was not willing to divulge much about the fitness status of his side, but did admit that striker Taiwo Awoniyi will remain out with an unspecified injury.

That might not help Reyna crack the lineup, as Awoniyi is very much a target man, and Forest expects leading scorer Chris Wood to be available on Saturday anyway.

However, if Nuno looks to winger Anthony Elanga as a second option up front, it could open up at least one avenue to more playing time for the USMNT playmaker, even if being out wide isn’t his top choice.

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Pulisic credits Pioli for AC Milan success: ‘He’s come through on his promises’

The USMNT forward has already set a career high in goals this season

Amid a career-best season in Italy, Christian Pulisic has credited AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli for keeping his promises.

In his first season with Milan, Pulisic has already set a career high for goals in all competitions with 12. After entering the international break on a run of four straight games with a goal, the American forward still has a minimum of 11 games remaining this season to add to his haul.

Pulisic struggled for regular playing time during the end of his spell at Chelsea, but he’s started 25 of Milan’s 29 league games so far. Speaking to Fox Sports, Pulisic said Pioli has held up his end of the bargain after lobbying for him to join Milan last summer.

“He has really come through on his promises,” Pulisic said. “It’s not just knowing you’re going to play — it’s having someone who really spoke to me before and really wanted me to come in.

“He’s given me an opportunity to go out and be myself the best way I know how, and has fit into what works best for the team. I think we’ve found a good balance of that.”

Pioli has been under pressure at times this season, but the coach appears to have steadied the ship of late. Milan is currently second place in the Serie A table and has reached the last eight of the Europa League, where a meeting with Italian rival Roma awaits.

Pulisic also spoke highly of the lifestyle in Milan, which he said has been a refreshing change of pace after five years in London.

“The lifestyle over here is definitely a shift from London,” Pulisic said. “Everything feels a bit slowed-down. Obviously nicer weather. It’s been a great change for me.

“Everything was moving kind of 100 miles an hour when I was in London, and the football culture was crazy. Here, I’ve been able to get away from the game, too, and enjoy the lifestyle, the culture, the food. I’m liking it a lot.”

Pulisic will aim to add to his record goal haul on Saturday, when Milan visits Fiorentina in a Serie A match.

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