Tag: Jordan Pefok

The Americans Abroad Five: Weston McKennie won’t go away quietly

From an afterthought just a couple months ago, McKennie is once again integral at Juventus

Weston McKennie admits he wasn’t exactly welcomed back to Juventus with open arms.

The midfielder left the club in January at the height of the Plusvalenza scandal, then proceeded to turn in a disappointing loan spell at Leeds. When he returned, there were reports Juventus was looking to offload him.

“You’re a starting player for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you decide to leave [that] club at a time of crisis, you know?” McKennie said on Tim Ream’s The American Dream podcast last week. “It’s pretty natural. I came back and I felt like nobody really cared.”

From an afterthought just a couple months ago, McKennie has once again made himself integral to the Bianconeri. 

McKennie’s resurgence has come at a position he’ll admit isn’t his preferred spot on the field, but he has nevertheless shown that reports of his Juventus demise appear to have been greatly exaggerated.

We’ll kick off this week’s Five with McKennie’s breakout display on Saturday.

The Americans Abroad Five: What could have been for Dortmund and Reyna

The American excelled off the bench again, but it couldn’t prevent a devastating outcome

It has not been the greatest season overall for Americans in Europe’s top leagues (more on that in a future post), and the final weekend of play fittingly contained plenty of agony — and a couple silver linings.

The world headquarters for sports agony this weekend was the Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, where the home side was in prime position to clinch its first Bundesliga title in 11 years. All it needed to do was win against mid-table Mainz, a team with nothing to play for.

Reader, Borussia Dortmund did not win against mid-table Mainz, a team with nothing to play for.

Despite the devastation for Gio Reyna and co., it wasn’t a complete wash for Americans Abroad — or even in Americans in Germany — this weekend.

Let’s look back on a weekend filled with the highest highs and lowest lows for some Americans Abroad.

The Americans Abroad Five: So, who’s getting relegated?

Several USMNT players are battling to avoid the drop as the season winds down

Last season’s crop of top-flight Americans Abroad saw their ranks thinned significantly after a number of relegations.

Some moved on to bigger and better things (Luca de la Torre), some dropped down a division and thrived (Tanner Tessmann and Josh Sargent), while some saw their personal stock sink along with their team (George Bello and Gianluca Busio).

This season appears to be mercifully lighter when it comes to Americans facing the drop in major European leagues, but there are still some notable names who could be sent packing to the second tier in the coming weeks.

This weekend saw some significant movement, both good and bad, for the relegation-threatened Americans Abroad. Let’s start the Five with a look at a vital weekend in the race to avoid the drop.

Even Jordan Pefok’s mom didn’t think he deserved to make World Cup roster

She’s tough but fair!

When Gregg Berhalter released his World Cup roster last fall, many observers — including this very website — counted Jordan Pefok among the biggest snubs.

The Union Berlin striker was off to a hot start in the Bundesliga, tallying four goals and three assists by the time the roster was released.

Though many were quick to suggest Berhalter had made a mistake, one person thought the coach was totally justified: Pefok’s own mother.

Though he says his mom “knows nothing about football,” Pefok adds that she knew enough to look at his U.S. national team stats and conclude he hadn’t done enough to warrant inclusion.

“[Berhalter] called me and told me that he was not going to call me up for the World Cup. The first two days, it was tough,” Pefok told ESPN. “Then I spoke to my mum. She knows nothing about football. She asked me: ‘Are you sick?’ No. ‘Are your brothers and sisters sick?’ No. ‘Am I sick?’ No. ‘Do you have money issues?’ No. ‘So what’s the issue then?’ It put everything in context and perspective then.

“I sat down, I was still cross, but she was right. She added: ‘I know nothing about football but I know that you went with the national team and you only scored one goal. Even if I was the national team head coach, I would not have called you up! A goal scorer has to score goals, that’s all.’ She was brutal. The disappointment went away and I started working hard again to make sure that I play at the 2026 World Cup at home. I will prepare well and do everything I can with Union to make sure that I am there in 2026.”

Pefok, who was most recently called up in March 2022, has scored one USMNT goal in nine appearances. For a women who doesn’t know anything about the game, Pefok’s mom does know a subpar strike rate when she sees one.

Hopefully Pefok at least reminded his mom that of his nine caps, only two of them were starts.

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USMNT forward Pepi misses World Cup roster despite red-hot form

Pepi’s outstanding form with Groningen wasn’t enough for the USMNT

The U.S. men’s national team will go to the World Cup without one of its most in-form goalscorers.

Ricardo Pepi, who has rediscovered his form in recent months after a loan move to Groningen, was surprisingly left off the USMNT roster for Qatar. Pepi has five goals and two assists in his first eight appearances since making that move, and had been a regular call-up for Gregg Berhalter even while struggling through his first European season at Augsburg.

That burst of success in the Eredivisie, and the restored confidence that came with it, seemed to secure his place on Berhalter’s roster. Instead, the USMNT head coach delivered a shock, dropping Pepi and calling on Jesús Ferreira, Josh Sargent, and Haji Wright as his three strikers.

“In the case of Ricardo, you know, that was a really difficult conversation that I had to have,” Berhalter told ESPN moments after the news dropped. “It’s always difficult when a guy helps you get to the World Cup, he scores three goals in World Cup qualifying, [and] isn’t going to be a part of the program.”

“It’s more about who we did add that we felt good about,” added Berhalter, preferring to highlight what the other strikers did to secure their places over critiquing Pepi’s play. “Josh is competing in the Championship, he played in the Premier League last year. We’re playing Wales and England, both teams are stocked with players from those leagues. Haji Wright is in great form with his team in Turkey, scoring nine goals already so far. And Jesús has been good for us, and a guy who really understands the game plan and how to execute it.”

Wright ‘in great goalscoring form’

Berhalter didn’t quite hone in on what Pepi had been missing to fall down the depth chart so late in the process, but he did give some insight into how Wright managed to climb above him.

The Antalyaspor striker wasn’t even seen as Pepi’s biggest challenger, with most of the signs pointing towards Pefok being the next man up. Wright has been very consistent in the Turkish top flight, but his last appearance with the USMNT saw Berhalter openly declare that he hadn’t capitalized on his opportunity. While Berhalter chalked the situation up to it “not being [Wright’s] night,” the choice to haul him off at halftime was widely read as the end of the California native’s World Cup hopes.

Speaking to reporters after announcing the roster, Berhalter explained some of what gave Wright the advantage in the end.

“We felt like Haji is in great goalscoring form,” said Berhalter, adding that while Wright is possibly less physically strong than Pefok, his speed was a factor in the decision. “Haji has pace. He’s got the ability to go one-v-one. He’s got finishing with his head, both feet. He’s performing really well in the Turkish League.”

Berhalter was so bullish on Wright’s form that he even drew a direct comparison between the USMNT man and Belgium striker Michy Batshuayi.

“Let’s not forget that the starting striker from Belgium also plays in the Turkish League and has five goals, and Haji has nine goals. And the Belgium guy’s probably playing for a better team, also. So I mean, this is not an easy league to score goals in, and he’s doing a good job.”

Batshuayi does in fact suit up for Fenerbahçe, the Istanbul-based giants that are currently five points clear atop the Turkish Super Lig table. Wright — who has nine of his club’s 19 league goals this season — and Antalyaspor are eight places and 13 points further down the table.

It’s not a totally even comparison. Batshuayi has only appeared in seven games since moving to Fenerbahçe a little over two months ago, and between league games and Europa League contests has scored a goal for every 75 minutes played, as compared to Wright’s rate of 117 minutes per goal. But even still, drawing a line between the two players clearly serves to highlight just how strong Wright’s form is in Berhalter’s eyes.

Berhalter added that the nature of this World Cup, with a lack of pre-tournament friendlies and prep time, made him place more weight on individual form than he might have otherwise.

“We don’t have three games before the World Cup now. We have a week of training, and that made it extremely difficult,” said Berhalter. “If we would have made the decision mid-September, Jordan Pefok would have probably been a lock to be in, based on his form in Union Berlin. But since then, it’s a different story. Now Haji’s come on more.”

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Steffen, Pefok headline USMNT snubs for World Cup roster

Gregg Berhalter had some tough choices to make

The U.S. men’s national team roster for the World Cup is out, and Gregg Berhalter had some tough choices to make.

While the most stunning news comes in goal, Berhalter left at least one strong candidate out in every position group. The USMNT boss had to deliver bad news to center backs, wingers, strikers, fullbacks, and attacking midfielders.

Some choices came down to injuries, while others may relate to tactical preferences. In at least one case, Berhalter openly stated that the choice boiled down to form.

Here are the six most notable snubs in the squad heading to Qatar.

USMNT striker stock watch: Final rankings before the World Cup

The USMNT will announce its World Cup roster on Wednesday. Which strikers will make the cut?

The United States men’s national soccer team will announce its roster for the 2022 World Cup on Wednesday evening.

The striker position has been in flux for most of the year but with just two weeks until kickoff in, some clarity has started to emerge.

Before the roster is revealed, here’s the final edition of Pro Soccer Wire’s 2022 striker stock watch series, with players ranked 1-3 expected to make the flight to Qatar.

The Americans Abroad Five: Oh boy, here come the injuries

Some key USMNT players are fighting to get fit with three weeks until the World Cup. Nobody panic!

Three weeks ago, this very column celebrated the triumphant return to health of many key U.S. national team players who had been battling injuries.

We are very, very sorry.

It’s not time to panic yet because the injuries are all minor-ish, but some important USMNT players have gone down over the past week. The World Cup kicks off in three weeks, so even a minor problem right now could have an impact in Qatar.

Tick tock. Tick tock. Let’s get to the Five

No need to worry, Jordan Pefok’s thigh injury is just a ‘horse kiss’

Union Berlin’s head coach used a delightful German compound word to provide an injury update

Jordan Pefok limped out of Union Berlin’s win over Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, sparking concerns that the American striker could be set for a spell on the sidelines.

But Union Berlin head coach Urs Fischer calmed fears over Pefok on Tuesday by using one of those delightful German compound words: Pferdekuss, or “horse kiss.”

Fischer said Pefok would miss out on Wednesday’s DFB-Pokal match against FC Heidenheim, but would hopefully be back in time for Sunday’s Bundesliga game against Bochum.

“Jordan will not be available to us [against Heidenheim],” Fischer said at a press conference on Tuesday. “The injury isn’t bad. He got a strong horse kiss, but I’m confident that it should be fine by Sunday.”

According to Wiktionary, Pferdekuss comes from the idiomatic expression vom Pferd geküsst werden (literally “to get kissed by a horse”) which, in practical terms, means “thigh knock” or “charley horse.”

Pefok has been vital to Union Berlin’s surprising lead atop the Bundesliga table, starting all but one of the club’s 10 league games while contributing three goals and three assists.

That form wasn’t enough to see him called into the USMNT’s September camp, however. Though his recent injury will heal with plenty of time to spare before the World Cup, it still looks unlikely that Pefok will be in Qatar.

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USMNT World Cup roster to be revealed on November 9

Who will make Gregg Berhalter’s list?

We’ll know the 26-player U.S. men’s national team roster for the 2022 World Cup in less than a month.

U.S. Soccer announced Thursday that they will announce the full squad heading to Qatar on Wednesday, November 9, at Brooklyn Steel in New York City.

ESPN2 and ESPN+ will broadcast the event, with coverage beginning at 5:00pm Eastern. Gregg Berhalter and some players from the squad will be present in person.

In World Cups past, the run-up would mean a roster reveal coming out as far as a month before the tournament. However, with Qatar holding the World Cup in November and December, in the thick of the European club season, the announcement will come just 12 days before the USMNT opens its schedule against Wales on November 21. Many players will likely have one more round of club matches the following weekend before joining up with the USMNT and heading to a pre-tournament training camp in Qatar.

Expect Berhalter to stay young

USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter is expected to call up one of the youngest squads going to the World Cup. Per data from U.S. Soccer, the average age of the USMNT in their 14 qualifying matches was 23.82, making them by some distance the most youthful group to qualify for the tournament.

Berhalter will have some tough calls to make over the next few weeks. A dispiriting pair of friendlies against Japan and Saudi Arabia saw few players improve their stock, and while important players like Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi have since gotten into better form with their clubs, fans are justifiably nervous with the group’s struggles in their last pair of rehearsals.

It feels as though there are few roster mysteries, provided that some key players stay healthy. Recent call-ups like Johnny Cardoso and Sam Vines appear to be on the outside looking in, while striker Brandon Vazquez has said that Berhalter told him it was too late to integrate him.

With Berhalter seemingly not particularly moved by Jordan Pefok’s excellent start with Union Berlin, the strike force question also seems close to settled. Center back should see the most heated competition, though that stems in part from injuries and poor showings in September for several candidates.

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