Category: Americans Abroad

USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi moves to Groningen on loan

Pepi’s heading to the Eredivisie

With the No. 9 role for the U.S. men’s national team up for grabs, Ricardo Pepi is on the move.

The USMNT striker is leaving Augsburg for a season-long loan with FC Groningen in the Eredivisie. Groningen did not announce further details, but Fabrizio Romano has reported there is no purchase clause involved in the deal.

“(Groningen) is a big club here in the Netherlands,” Pepi told the club’s site. “They’ve developed some great players: Luis Suarez, Virgil van Dijk, Arjen Robben. These are world-class players. I know this is a great club for me, and it’s gonna be a good season.”

“Ricardo is a great talent, who has an international reputation,” said Groningen technical director Mark-Jan Fledderus. “At the beginning of this month his name was mentioned to us and we have already had a conversation with him. Shortly afterwards his situation at Augsburg changed and his arrival seemed no longer an option for us. Until yesterday. We acted very quickly on this and last night Ricardo drove to Groningen to complete his transfer today.”

The move comes at a critical time for Pepi’s USMNT hopes. The competition for potential strikers on Gregg Berhalter’s roster for the World Cup is suddenly fierce, while Pepi’s candidacy has fallen off. Since making the jump from FC Dallas to Augsburg, Pepi hasn’t scored a goal at club level, and his last goal with the national team came back in October of last year.

Even with that drought and the addition of Bosnian striker Ermedin Demirovic as a new starter, Pepi had still appeared in every Augsburg match this season. However, he had clearly become a second-choice option for head coach Enrico Maassen, even with Augsburg generally playing with two strikers. So far this year, Pepi has 107 minutes spread across five appearances in all competitions, and only one start.

In that regard, a move to Groningen and the notoriously free-scoring Eredivisie makes sense. For one thing, Groningen needs the help: they’ve scored five goals in four games this season. It’s also a league where Americans have scored plenty of goals, going back to the days of Michael Bradley at Heerenveen and Jozy Altidore at AZ.

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The #FreePulisic movement is in full effect

For the fifth time out of five in 2022-23, the USMNT star came off the bench for Chelsea on Tuesday

Christian Pulisic appears to be somewhat stuck right now.

The American is, according to multiple reports, set to stay at Chelsea past Thursday’s transfer deadline, but that still doesn’t seem to mean he’ll be playing much.

Pulisic started on the bench for Chelsea at Southampton on Tuesday, the fifth consecutive game he’s been left out of the lineup.

Perhaps the biggest issue for some was Pulisic being benched in favor of Hakim Ziyech, who has been heavily linked with a move away from the club before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

Pulisic did come on in the 66th minute but Thomas Tuchel shuffled him out to right wingback, where, admittedly, he did not perform well as Chelsea slumped to a surprise 2-1 defeat to the Saints.

After the game Pulisic clearly was not happy, going straight down the tunnel after a poor performance at a position that would never be his first choice.

There was plenty of reaction around Twitter as, for the fifth time out of five in 2022-23, the USMNT star came off the bench.

Let’s just pretend this Yunus Musah scorcher actually counted

It didn’t count on the scoreboard, but we all saw it happen

Yunus Musah scored an absolute rocket of a goal against Atlético Madrid, which was then cruelly taken away for a foul in the build-up after a VAR review.

The U.S. international thought he gave Valencia the lead midway through the first half, unleashing an absolute scorcher from long range that flew past Jan Oblak and kissed the near post on its way in.

But after the celebrations died down, the referee was called over to the monitor and spotted an infraction by Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby on João Félix.

No goal.

It would have been Musah’s first of the season and third career La Liga goal. After the 19-year-old scored one league goal in each of the past two seasons with Valencia, he appears poised to find the back of the net much more in 2022-23.

Watch Musah’s disallowed stunner

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The Americans Abroad Five: Reconsidering Ream

Could the Fulham veteran make a late charge toward a World Cup roster spot?

We have been known to lead with the attackers in this here column but this week, it’s time to talk about a defender first.

Tim Ream, at age 34, is commanding a Premier League defense and looking every bit like a player who deserves a spot at the World Cup. But with no USMNT call-ups in almost a year, is it too late for Ream?

We’ll get to the strikers this week too, as a red-hot trio continued their strong play in Europe.

There are also major transfer questions that will be resolved this week, with two of the USMNT’s most vital players potentially set to find new homes.

Let’s get to the Five.

Borussia Dortmund really isn’t taking any chances with Gio Reyna

After a lost season, the USMNT attacker is being brought along in extremely deliberate fashion

Borussia Dortmund is doing everything possible to ensure that Giovanni Reyna doesn’t suffer a repeat of last season.

Reyna suffered multiple serious muscle injuries in 2021-22, resulting in a mostly lost season that saw him make just 12 total appearances.

After a full offseason of rehab, Reyna is being introduced back into the fold in an extremely deliberate fashion.

The 19-year-old has been in the squad for just two of the club’s five total games so far this season, and progress has not been linear.

One week after making his season debut off the bench for Dortmund, Reyna was again left out of the squad for Saturday’s 1-0 win at Hertha Berlin. According to coach Edin Terzic, Reyna was omitted after aa minor complaint before the match.

“With Gio, it’s a special situation,” Terzic said after the game. “Gio has been struggling with injuries for almost a year now. He kept fighting back and was then quickly disappointed again when the injuries kept returning.

“He actually trained very well this week. We have a very specific program tailored to him. But he didn’t feel good before the game. And when he feels that, then there’s no point in risking the next setback.

“But we will continue to build him up carefully in the hope that he will fully join in training from next week. We’d rather give up one or two appearances than risk having to do without someone for months.”

With the World Cup coming up, USMNT fans won’t be too upset about Dortmund’s extreme caution. But at some point in the near future, seeing Reyna back healthy for an extended period would also be nice.

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USMNT’s Haji Wright stays hot with another brace for Antalyaspor

It’s non-stop goals for all USMNT strikers right now

Haji Wright is keeping his name in the battle to be the U.S. men’s national team’s main option up top at the World Cup.

For the second straight match, Wright scored twice for Antalyaspor in a 5-2 result. This time though, Wright’s two goals were the only ones Antalyaspor got on the day, as Gaziantep produced a blistering four-goal second half to come from 2-1 down to win on Friday.

Still, Wright now has five goals in four league matches, putting him firmly in the Süper Lig golden boot race with Enner Valencia (who has six for Fenerbahçe). That keeps him in the mix with a red-hot corps of USMNT strikers that includes Josh Sargent and Jordan Pefok, who have been just as sharp for Norwich and Union Berlin, respectively.

Wright got his first by first through pure hard work, battling for a header as Antalyaspor broke forward. Wright didn’t win the ball, but his presence forced an errant header, and he took off into the space opened up as a result, received a through ball from Fredy, and used his defender as a screen to score a 30th minute equalizer.

Ten minutes later, Wright gave Antalyaspor the lead, again on a pass from Fredy. This time, Antalyaspor broke through with some attacking possession, and Fredy’s ball in for Wright was dummied on by Luiz Adriano, setting the USMNT striker up to tuck the ball away first-time.

Watch Wright bag another brace

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Daryl Dike is having some laundry issues

“Before I continue, yes, I know I’m an idiot”

Daryl Dike’s clothes have probably been smelling a bit strange since he arrived in England. On Friday he found out why and thankfully, he shared the answer with the entire internet.

The West Brom striker, currently sidelined with an injury, posted a video on his TikTok account that started with a frank admission: “Before I continue, yes, I know I’m an idiot!”

OK, intriguing. Go on!

It turns out that Dike “kind of thought that my washing machine was just crap” — that is, until he discovered the real reason his laundry experience in England hadn’t been going exactly as planned.

Dike recounts: “I come back home to my apartment and I look down at the bag I have … this is what I’ve been using! I have been washing my clothes with dishwasher soap since I’ve been here! I have lived in England for eight months! I’m an idiot! How do I even do that?”

Thankfully, West Brom’s social media admin quickly went to the store to purchase the correct detergent, with defender Taylor Gardner-Hickman completing the delivery to Dike in the dressing room.

“I’m not going to lie to you, I was actually on my way to go get some,” Dike responded.

And he wasn’t lying! Dike posted on Instagram shortly after that he had indeed found the correct product to ensure his clothes don’t smell like clean plates and silverware.

Dike’s next wash is going to smell absolutely incredible to him.

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USMNT duo Malik Tillman, James Sands help Rangers qualify for Champions League

The U.S. contingent in the Champions League keeps growing

Add James Sands and Malik Tillman to the list of U.S. men’s national team players in this year’s Champions League group stage.

The USMNT duo both played a major role as Rangers defeated PSV 1-0 on Wednesday night, giving them a 3-2 aggregate victory that sends the Scottish side into Thursday’s draw. Manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst started Tillman as his No. 10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, while Sands took up his usual spot at center back as both USMNT players went the full 90 minutes.

Rangers started well, with Tillman creating their best early look only for Tom Lawrence to blaze it wide in the 25th minute. Tillman and Sands were among the best players on the field for either team, with Rangers’ attacks nearly always involving the former Bayern Munich academy product. At the other end, Sands and the Glaswegian club’s defense gave up little, frustrating the crowd in Eindhoven and keeping the game manageable for Rangers.

Tillman also ended up with the assist on the goal that took them through, pouncing on a massive mistake on the hour mark as Rangers scored the game’s only goal. PSV goalkeeper Walter Benítez passed to André Ramalho, who Tillman pressured immediately. Tillman won the ball cleanly, drew Benítez, and squared for Antonio Colak to tap into an empty net.

It was the second decisive moment for Tillman in this Champions League qualifying campaign. His first goal at the club completed a remarkable comeback in the previous round, as they overturned a two-goal deficit to advance past Union Saint-Gilloise. That moment was instantly lionized on the blue side of Glasgow, with fans doing a “Tillman Header Challenge” outside of Ibrox.

From there, though, the game came down to Rangers doing wonderful work in killing the game off effectively, with PSV never having much of a look of note. Sands played a prominent role at center back, coming through numerous aeriel duels as PSV grew more desperate.

The win sees Rangers back into the group stage for the first time since the 2010-11 edition. Tillman and Sands will join a large group of USMNT-eligible players in the group stage, with Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Dortmund), Sergiño Dest (Barcelona, at least for the time being),  Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Owen Otasowie (Club Brugge), Timothy Chandler (Eintract Frankfurt), and Josh Cohen (Maccabi Haifa).

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Who is Josh Cohen? Unheralded American goalkeeper set for Champions League spotlight

The California native is one of the least likely Americans to ever reach the Champions League group stage

The list of American players featuring in the Champions League group stage usually reads like a who’s who of the country’s best-known stars.

This year is no different: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Giovanni Reyna are just a few of the USMNT players set to feature.

But then, there’s Josh Cohen.

Wait, who?

If you haven’t heard of the 30-year-old goalkeeper, you aren’t alone. Cohen’s path to the game’s biggest stage was as circuitous as they come, taking him on a tour of the American lower leagues before a move to Israeli side Maccabi Haifa gave him his big break.

Cohen’s journey in the U.S.

After playing at Division II UC San Diego, Cohen’s pro journey began with the Burlingame Dragons of the semi-pro PDL.

From there he moved on to the Orange County Blues and then to Phoenix Rising, where he became a starter in the USL. He then returned to his home state of California with Sacramento Republic FC.

Cohen really broke through with Sacramento, establishing himself as one of the USL’s best goalkeepers. Still, a move to MLS never seemed like it would happen.

“As I got further along in my USL career, I learned more about how professional soccer works in the U.S.,” Cohen told The Athletic in 2020.

“I was very naive when I first got into it. MLS has their way of thinking and the coaches, the GMs and decision makers, they view American players in a certain way. Once you have been profiled as an American USL player, it’s very hard to break out of that stigma.”

Cohen moves to Israel

With his path to MLS seemingly blocked, Cohen looked abroad for his next move. By virtue of being Jewish, he was able to join Israeli outfit Maccabi Haifa without occupying an international slot.

In Haifa, Cohen has taken his game to the next level and experienced success beyond any reasonable expectations.

Case in point: the 2020-21 season. Not only did Maccabi Haifi win the Israeli Premier League title, but Cohen was named the league’s player of the season — a rare honor for a goalkeeper.

Haifi won the title again last season, reaching this year’s Champions League qualifying rounds. But unlike last season, the Israeli club successfully navigated the gauntlet of the qualifying rounds by getting past Olympiacos, Apollon Limassol, and finally Red Star Belgrade to reach the coveted group stage.

That means six high-profile matches against some of Europe’s biggest sides — not bad for a player who never played Division 1 college soccer or in MLS. The road to success has been winding for Cohen, but he’s reached a level that most American players will only ever dream about.

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Timothy Weah’s injury could keep him out of the USMNT’s September games

The forward’s ankle problem appears to be worse than originally thought

Timothy Weah’s time on the sidelines is going to be longer than initially expected — and it also may have ruled out a potential transfer to Valencia.

Lille coach Paulo Fonseca said last week that Weah’s ankle injury would likely keep him out for the club’s first two games of the season.

But one week later, Lille president Olivier Létang said the injury would keep Weah out at least three more weeks, which could mean he misses the USMNT’s final two World Cup tuneups on September 23 and 27 against Japan and Saudi Arabia.

“For Timothy Weah, he is injured in the ankle and has three weeks of immobilization,” Létang said at a press conference on Saturday.

Létang also spoke about Weah’s potential transfer to Valencia, saying there had been some interest from the La Liga side but that 22-year-old is now set to stay in France.

“We spoke with Timo, but there were no more requests than that. Valencia was there,” Létang said. “… [Weah] is expected to stay too.”

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