Tillman, on time and wide awake, scores stunner in PSV win

Tillman answered his alarm clock in the best way possible for PSV

Malik Tillman was wide awake for PSV’s win over FC Volendam.

The U.S. men’s national team attacking midfielder put up a goal and an assist in an emphatic performance, helping his side claim a 3-1 victory over 10-man FC Volendam on Saturday.

A week after being left out of the side by manager Peter Bosz for oversleeping, Tillman was handed a chance to make up for it, and ended up involved on the goals that provided the margin of victory at Philips Stadion.

Against a Volendam side that has a dreadful history against PSV — broadcaster ESPN noted that the previous nine meetings had seen the Eindhoven-based club score 50 goals — Tillman was handed his first start since a summer loan move from Bayern Munich.

What followed was more or less pure dominance: PSV took 38 shots and held 76% of the possession over the 90 minutes, while Volendam eventually went down a man thanks to Benaissa Benamar’s late red card.

Still, at halftime PSV only lead 1-0, and it was only in the second half that Tillman in particular started to heat up. Halftime substitute Guus Til helped as well, finishing Tillman’s delicate lob over the Volendam defense to make it 2-0 just moments after the restart.

Ricardo Pepi stepped into the fray with 20 minutes to go, and made an impact of his own. He drew the foul that got Benamar sent off, and the Texan played a big role in Tillman’s stoppage-time strike.

It wasn’t clear if Pepi got a touch on an attempted header as the ball bounced toward him, but it was enough to fool his marker, and the resulting deflection fell perfectly for Tillman.

The 21-year-old raced away through an enormous gap in the Volendam back line, then produced an overpowering shot from an angle to cap the scoring off.

It was, in other words, a perfect response to any doubts that Bosz or PSV fans might have had over the club’s new signing. The win also increased the club’s lead in the Eredivisie to four points, though AZ and FC Twente could still reduce that gap with games later on the weekend.

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PSV’s USMNT trio made some history in a bad night at Arsenal

For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals shared the same UEFA Champions League pitch

For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals played in the same UEFA Champions League game. That is an accomplishment worth celebrating. As for the game itself? Much less so.

PSV trio Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi all shared the field on Wednesday, but the Dutch side was blown away in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal to kick off both teams’ group-stage campaigns.

Dest played the full match, while Tillman came on midway through the second half and Pepi was introduced in second-half stoppage time.

In particular, it was a rough night for Dest, who tried and mostly failed to contain Bukayo Saka on the right side of Arsenal’s attack. The first and third goal for the Gunners could at least partially be blamed on Dest.

First, he completely switched off and allowed Saka to run past him and score on a rebound.

Dest would later get sucked inside and was unable to close down Gabriel Jesus quickly enough, as the Brazilian had plenty of time to take a touch and fire home Arsenal’s third goal.

After the game, PSV head coach Peter Bosz admitted that Arsenal’s superior quality was the difference, adding that his team did not defend well in its own box.

“[Our players] worked, they played with the ball, but the difference in quality was too great,” Bosz said.

“I’m willing to take a critical look at myself. They defended well in their box, we did not in ours. Then you run into a major defeat. If we play more at this level more, we’ll learn from these mistakes. I hope we can see that in the second leg in December, against the best team in the group and one of the best teams in the world.”

PSV will also face Lens and Sevilla in a difficult Group B.

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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.

Berhalter talks USMNT strikers after Balogun, Pepi both score in Oman rout

Berhalter has to be liking what he’s seeing as both No. 9s were on the scoresheet

The U.S. men’s national team could have the sort of “good” problem that every team in the world wants: multiple in-form strikers.

Tuesday’s comprehensive 4-0 win over Oman saw Folarin Balogun open the scoring after 13 minutes, while Ricardo Pepi snuck a 79th minute effort into the bottom corner to give the USMNT its third goal on the night.

Balogun now has two goals in his four USMNT caps, while Pepi scored in both of the team’s games in this window. This comes right after the duo secured moves to better situations at club level that both bear some similarities.

Balogun was one of the best strikers in Ligue 1 last year, which encouraged Monaco to put up €40-plus million to seal an August transfer from Arsenal. Pepi, meanwhile, joined PSV in an €11 million transfer after the 20-year-old impressed on loan in the Eredivisie last season with strugglers Groningen.

With both players settling in at their new clubs and having success with the USMNT, it was no surprise that head coach Gregg Berhalter took multiple questions about the two options in this camp at the No. 9 position.

“You always want your forwards scoring goals. Our job as teammates and as coaches is to put them in a position to score goals,” Berhalter told reporters in a post-match press conference. “It’s important that they both scored. As far as we see the competition, it’s twofold, right? It’s what they do for their clubs each and every week, and what they do for us when they’re in camp.”

Focusing on Pepi first, Berhalter didn’t particularly even focus on the goal, instead citing his play in pressing situations and a near-assist in the game’s final minutes.

“I thought from a pressing standpoint, Ricardo did a great job,” said Berhalter. “It’s really good to see him playing full of confidence. That move he had, and the pass to Weston [late in the match] would have been a fantastic goal. All you really want is your players to be confident, and Ricardo certainly is.”

Asked about Balogun later in the press conference, Berhalter said that he feels the USMNT’s other players are only just starting to figure out where to look for the former Arsenal man.

“I think we’re still trying to figure out the best way to utilize Balo, because we know he’s high quality,” explained Berhalter. “He made a number of good runs behind the back line today that we didn’t pick up on, so he’s still integrating that side of it. And for us, it’s again, all we want to do is put the forwards in position where they can score goals.”

Berhalter expanded a bit on how his system is designed to create the kinds of chances that Balogun (and Pepi) tend to do well at converting. “That’s our game. That’s our game model. That’s how we play: to get our forwards chances, we need to get low balls in the penalty box. We need them to attack in space between the center backs, runs behind the backline, all those things will help create chances for them.”

With October friendlies against Germany and Ghana looking like a more stern test for the USMNT, Berhalter will be hoping that both players maintain or even improve on the confidence and finishing form they’ve shown of late.

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Pepi: I’ve never had a problem with Berhalter

The striker was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup roster

Ricardo Pepi has insisted he’s never had a problem with U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, despite being left off last year’s World Cup roster.

Pepi was one of the last cuts for the 26-man squad that went to Qatar, with Jesús Ferreira, Haji Wright and Josh Sargent preferred over the then-Groningen forward.

After six months away from the team, Berhalter was rehired as USMNT head coach and will return to the sideline in friendlies against Uzbekistan on Saturday and Oman on Tuesday.

After his World Cup snub, Pepi has returned to the USMNT in impressive fashion, scoring four goals in four appearances so far in 2023.

Pepi spoke about his relationship with Berhalter on the Offside With Taylor Twellman podcast, insisting that there has never been an issue between the pair.

“To be honest, I never really had a problem with Gregg,” the 20-year-old said. “We had a phone call before this camp and he just explained to me my role in the squad. He explained to me that he was back. So, it’s all a healthy relationship with him. I’ve never had a problem with him at all.

“So it’s all normal. And of course, we have a good relationship on the pitch. He’s always telling me on video if he sees something, he’s always telling me to improve this, improve that. So, you know, it’s all a good relationship, to be honest.”

Pepi completed an offseason transfer from Augsburg to PSV after starring on loan with Groningen last season. The striker said he enjoys the style of play in the Eredivisie and is looking to stay patient at PSV, where he’s served as a backup to Luuk de Jong in the early season.

“They have a very nice style of football, which is why I like the league a lot,” Pepi said. “And of course, [there are] a lot of opportunities for young players. I feel like it’s a good stepping stone for a young player as well.

“I signed a five-year deal [at PSV], so it’s about patience of course. And it’s about working every day, trying to get better as a player. A club like PSV is known for making big transfer players, they’re always helping players go out to the big clubs. So I feel like I’m in the right spot and I’m just going to keep working until I get my opportunity.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: PSV showing promise for USMNT trio

Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi should all be big factors for the Dutch giants this season

In the span of just a few months, PSV became one of the first clubs on the list of anyone monitoring Americans Abroad.

Three players who figure to play a key role over the next decade for the U.S. men’s national team — Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi — all joined the Dutch giants over the summer.

The transformation of PSV into a hub for Americans is largely due to Earnie Stewart, the former sporting director of U.S. Soccer who now holds the same position with PSV.

The season is still young, but there are some promising signs coming out of Eindhoven for all three USMNT players.

Dest looks to be the player who’s immediately benefitted the most, but Tillman and Pepi can also be encouraged by their first month at the club.

Let’s kick off this week’s Five with a look at PSV’s American trio.

USMNT players in UEFA Champions League 2023-24

11 U.S. players are in the world’s biggest club competition

There was once a time where a U.S. men’s national team player being on a Champions League squad list — even if they might have no shot at playing in any actual games — was a very big deal.

It’s safe to say those days are gone, with no fewer than 11 U.S. players on the books for clubs that qualified for this year’s competition.

Sure, in some cases the player in question is probably a major longshot to even dress on gameday, but between Christian Pulisic’s sublime start to life at AC Milan and a USMNT trio at PSV, USMNT fans are likely going to be watching games on multiple screens just to keep up.

Here is the complete list of U.S. men’s players to make it to this year’s Champions League proper:

USMNT transfer rater: Grading every player’s move this summer

It’s a big summer for the USMNT, with a majority of its key players looking for new clubs

It’s a big summer for the U.S. men’s national team.

We aren’t talking about the Nations League or the Gold Cup here, though those are clearly significant in their own right. Instead, we’re talking about the summer transfer window, which promises to be one of the more active ones in recent memory for the USMNT.

Nearly all of the team’s top players have the potential to change clubs in the summer of 2023. With three years to go until a World Cup on home soil, the decisions USMNT players make this summer could determine their trajectory ahead of 2026.

With that in mind, we are tracking and rating all of the most significant completed moves for USMNT players this summer.

Ricardo Pepi scores first PSV goal in Champions League qualifying win over Sturm Graz

Pepi is off the mark for PSV

Ricardo Pepi is off the mark at PSV.

The U.S. men’s national team striker came off the bench to score a late penalty as his new side defeated Austria’s Sturm Graz 3-1 in the third round of UEFA Champions League qualifying. PSV advanced 7-2 on aggregate.

Pepi entered the game at halftime for Luuk de Jong, making this his longest stint in a match since his summer move. Pepi’s previous three appearances since a July transfer from Augsburg saw the USMNT striker total 30 minutes, including a six-minute debut in European continental competition in last week’s first leg in Eindhoven.

With PSV having won that match by a 4-1 scoreline, there was never much of a chance for drama to creep into proceedings. While Sturm Graz opened the scoring at the Merkur Arena, PSV struck twice before halftime. The Dutch club’s second goal came from de Jong, the veteran who figures to be Pepi’s main rival for minutes at center forward this season.

With the match winding down, Pepi got his chance thanks to some assistance from VAR. An initially innocuous sequence saw a hopeful ball appear to clip Graz’s Gregory Wüthrich, and after a somewhat lengthy VAR check, PSV were given a spot kick.

Pepi got the nod, but seemed unable to hear the referee’s whistle amid jeering from Sturm Graz fans, who were not the least bit pleased after this VAR decision came on the heels of seeing a goal of their own chalked off.

After glancing over and getting the visual confirmation — literally a wave to proceed from referee Srđan Jovanović — Pepi buried the penalty kick to seal the final scoreline.

Malik Tillman, Pepi’s teammate for club and country, was not in uniform for the match after playing 45 minutes for Jong PSV (the club’s Under-21 side, which is in the Dutch second tier) on Monday.

While Tillman builds his fitness, he could well be called upon in the club’s final step to qualify for this year’s Champions League. PSV will be paired with Rangers (where Tillman spent last season on loan) in the final playoff round, with the two legs coming up on August 22 and 30.

Watch Pepi’s first goal for PSV

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USMNT striker Pepi completes transfer to PSV

The 20-year-old is staying in the Netherlands after a successful loan at Groningen last season

Ricardo Pepi is making his stay in the Netherlands permanent.

After impressing on loan with Groningen last season, the U.S. national team striker has completed a transfer to PSV from German outfit Augsburg.

Pepi will wear the No. 14 at PSV and has signed a five-year contract. ESPN reported last month that the Dutch club will pay $9.8 million for the striker.

“I am incredibly happy and excited to be here,” Pepi told PSV’s website. “I believe this is the right step for my career. PSV is a club with great ambitions, and I share the same desire to win trophies. I am a hardworking player who is willing to put in the dirty work. I prefer to have the ball close to the goal because that’s when I can score goals.”

Pepi’s time at Augsburg was ill-fated from the moment the Bundesliga side paid a club-record fee of $20 million in January 2022 to sign the striker from FC Dallas.

After failing to score in his first half season with Augsburg, Pepi started the 2022-23 season off slowly as well before joining Groningen on loan for the rest of the campaign.

With Groningen, Pepi found his scoring touch once again, netting 12 times in the Eredivisie despite the club’s relegation.

“Ricardo possesses the qualities we look for in an attacker, the qualities of a PSV player,” said the club’s director of football Earnie Stewart, who recently left his position as U.S. Soccer sporting director to take the job with the Dutch power.

“He has proven to be a goalscorer in multiple positions, and he works extremely hard for it. It speaks volumes that he accounted for such a large portion of FC Groningen’s goals.”

Pepi just missed out on the USMNT’s World Cup squad, but has come back into the fold with a bang after the tournament in Qatar.

The 20-year-old has scored four goals in four appearances with the USMNT in 2023, including a goal against Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal last month.

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