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Americans Abroad Weekend Rewind: Robinson, Musah, and more

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Fulham picked up a second-consecutive Premier League draw to open the new season on Saturday with Antonee Robinson delivering a strong shift in Marco Silva’s backline.

Robinson started and played 90 minutes as Fulham tied Wolves 0-0 at Molineux. The 25-year-old left back won six of eight duels, made three clearances, one interception, and three recoveries, alongside fellow U.S. men’s national team defender Tim Ream. Robinson has remained a starter in Fulham’s starting lineup following promotion back to the top flight and with a strong outing on Saturday, the USMNT defender is gaining confidence at an important time with international duty coming in September.

Elsewhere in England, Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams both logged 90 minutes in Leeds United’s 2-2 draw with Southampton. Ethan Horvath made four saves in Luton Town’s 1-0 loss to Preston North End while Matthew Hoppe made a short debut off the bench for Middlesbrough. Chris Richards made his Premier League debut in Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

In Spain, Yunus Musah went the distance for Valencia in a 1-0 La Liga opening day win over Girona. Sergino Dest did not dress for Barcelona amid reported interest from Manchester United.

In France, Tim Weah missed Lille’s 1-1 draw with Nantes due to a foot injury. Erik Palmer-Brown logged 90 minutes in Troyes’ loss to Toulouse.

Elsewhere, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic rolled to a 5-0 league win over Kilmarnock. Malik Tillman scored for the second-consecutive match for Rangers while Johnny Cardoso assisted once in Internacional’s Serie A win in Brazil. Alan Sonora went the distance for Independiente in a 1-1 league draw in Argentina. Folarin Balogun scored once for Stade Reims in Ligue 1 action.

Here is a closer look at this weekend’s Americans Abroad:


England


Premier League

Tyler Adams, Brenden Aaronson started and played 90 minutes in Leeds United’s 2-2 draw with Southampton on Saturday.

Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Fulham’s 0-0 draw with Wolves on Saturday.

Christian Pulisic came off the bench and played five minutes in Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham on Sunday.

Chris Richards came off the bench and played 12 minutes in Crystal Palace’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on Monday.

Matt Turner dressed but did not play in Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

Championship

Ethan Horvath started, made FOUR SAVES, and played 90 minutes in Luton Town’s 1-0 loss to and Preston North End on Saturday.

Zack Steffen started, made TWO SAVES, and played 90 minutes in Middlesbrough’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield United on Sunday.

Matthew Hoppe came off the bench and played one minute for Middlesbrough.

Duane Holmes came off the bench, registered TWO ASSISTS, and played 26 minutes in Huddersfield Town’s 3-1 win over Stoke City on Saturday.

Auston Trusty started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 1-0 loss to Cardiff City on Saturday.

Lynden Gooch started and played 90 minutes in Sunderland’s 2-2 draw with QPR on Saturday.

Josh Sargent came off the bench and played 33 minutes in Norwich City’s 2-1 loss to Hull City on Saturday.

Jonathan Tomkinson did not dress for Norwich City.

Daryl Dike did not dress (Injury) in West Bromwich Albion’s 2-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.


Germany


Bundesliga

Joe Scally started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 2-2 draw with Schalke on Saturday.

Jordan Pefok started and played 70 minutes in Union Berlin’s 0-0 draw with Mainz on Sunday.

Ricardo Pepi came off the bench and played one minute in Augsburg’s 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Pellegrino Matarazzo‘s Stuttgart tied Werder Bremen 2-2 on Saturday.

Timmy Chandler dressed but did not play in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw with Hertha Berlin on Saturday.

Kevin Paredes did not dress in Wolfsburg’s 2-0 loss to Bayern Munich on Sunday.

Gio Reyna did not dress in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 win over Freiburg on Friday.

2. Bundesliga

Julian Green started, registered ONE ASSIST, and played 65 minutes in Greuther Furth’s 2-2 draw with Fortuna Dusseldorf on Sunday.

Timothy Tillman started and played 86 minutes for Greuther Furth.

Terrence Boyd started and played 78 minutes in Kaiserslautern’s 1-0 loss to Paderborn on Friday.

George Bello came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Arminia Bielefeld’s 2-0 loss to Hamburg on Saturday.

Nico Carrera did not dress in Holstein Kiel’s 3-0 win over Eintracht Braundschweig on Saturday.

Bryang Kayo did not dress in Nuremberg’s 3-0 loss to FC Heidenheim on Friday.

3. Liga

Johan Gomez started and played 65 minutes in FSV Zwickau’s 5-0 loss to Elversberg on Saturday.


Spain


La Liga

Yunus Musah started and played 90 minutes in Valencia’s 1-0 win over Girona on Sunday.

Luca De La Torre dressed but did not play in Celta Vigo’s 2-2 draw with Espanyol on Saturday.

Sergino Dest did not dress in Barcelona’s 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Jonathan Gomez did not dress in Real Sociedad’s 1-0 win over Cadiz on Sunday.

Segunda Liga

Samuel Shashoua started and played 80 minutes in Tenerife’s 2-1 loss to Eibar on Saturday.


Italy


Serie A

Weston McKennie started and played 76 minutes in Juventus 3-0 win over Sassuolo on Monday.

Serie B

Andrija Novakovich started and played 90 minutes in Venezia’s 2-1 loss to Genoa on Sunday.

Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessmann started and played 69 minutes for Venezia.

Anthony Fontana dressed but did not play in Ascoli’s 2-1 win over Ternana on Sunday.


France


Ligue 1

Erik Palmer-Brown started and played 90 minutes in Troyes 3-0 loss to Toulouse on Sunday.

Folarin Balogun started, scored ONE GOAL, and played 64 minutes in Stade Reims 4-2 loss to Clermont Foot on Sunday.

Tim Weah did not dress (Injury) in Lille’s 1-1 draw with Nantes on Friday.


Netherlands


Eredivisie

Richie Ledezma started and played 38 minutes in PSV’s 5-2 win over Go Ahead Eagles on Saturday. Ledezma was substituted off after an injury.

Cole Bassett did not dress in Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Heerenveen on Saturday. Bassett was loaned to Fortuna Sittard following his recall from Colorado Rapids.


Portugal


Liga Portugal

Reggie Cannon started and played 90 minutes in Boavista’s 2-1 win over Santa Clara on Sunday.

Alex Mendez did not dress in Vizela’s 1-0 loss to FC Porto on Sunday.


Scotland


Premiership

Cameron Carter-Vickers started and played 90 minutes in Celtic’s 5-0 win over Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Ian Harkes started and played 90 minutes in Dundee United’s 4-1 loss to Hearts on Sunday.

Malik Tillman started, scored ONE GOAL, and played 67 minutes in Rangers 4-0 win over St. Johnstone on Saturday.

James Sands did not dress for Rangers.

Christian Ramirez, Dante Polvara dressed but did not play in Aberdeen’s 3-2 loss to Motherwell on Saturday.

Joe Efford came off the bench and played 28 minutes for Motherwell.


Belgium


Pro League

Sam Vines started and played 90 minutes in Royal Antwerp’s 1-0 win over Eupen on Sunday.

Mark McKenzie started and played 90 minutes in Genk’s 4-1 win over Zulte Waregem on Sunday.

Owen Otasowie dressed but did not play in Club Brugge’s 3-0 win over OH Leuven on Sunday.

Bryan Reynolds dressed but did not play in Westerlo’s 4-2 win over Standard Liege on Saturday.

Griffin Yow did not dress for Westerlo.


Turkey


Super Lig

Haji Wright started, scored ONE GOAL, and played 76 minutes in Antalyaspor’s 1-0 win over Umraniyespor on Sunday.

Tyler Boyd came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Besiktas 3-3 draw with Alanyaspor on Sunday.


Denmark


Superliagen

Christian Cappis started and played 90 minutes in Brondby’s 2-0 win over Odense on Sunday.

Emmanuel Sabbi did not dress for Odense.


Austria


2. Liga

Ulysses Llanez did not dress in SKN St. Poelten’s 5-2 loss to Sturm Graz II on Friday.


Norway


Eliteserien

Sam Rogers started and played 90 minutes in Rosenborg’s 5-2 win over Sandefjord on Friday.

Kobe Hernandez-Foster started and played 84 minutes in HamKam’s 1-1 draw with Valerenga on Sunday.


Sweden


Allsvenskan

Joe Gyau started and played 90 minutes in Degerfors 1-1 draw with Varbergs Bols on Sunday.

Jeffrey Gal dressed but did not play for Degerfors.

Forrest Lasso, Joe Corona started and played 90 minutes in Sundsvall’s 3-1 loss to Malmo on Sunday.

Romain Gall is OUT (Injury) for Malmo.


Argentina


Primeira Liga

Alan Sonora started and played 90 minutes in Independiente’s 1-1 draw with Lanus on Saturday.

Joel Sonora dressed but did not play in Velez Sarsfield’s 1-1 draw with Gimnasia on Sunday.


Brazil


Serie A

Johnny Cardoso started, registered ONE ASSIST, and played 83 minutes in Internacional’s 3-0 win over Fluminense on Sunday.


Comments

  1. Overall trends seem to be going in the right direction at the start of the season for our European players, considering how many switched clubs and/or were loaned out:
    1) 2 of 3 Keepers getting club starts. Before the loans of Steffen & Horvath I was really concerned with match fitness/awareness of our keepers.
    2) Defense: Richards, CCV, EPB all getting onto the field. I’d like Richards to see more minutes, but it’s early yet and he’s not been with the club long. Scally back getting regular minutes (keeps him in the hunt). Cannon back getting regular minutes. Dest is a concern, but hoping he can turn it around.
    3) Midfield: Adams & Musah seeing consistent minutes and playing well. McKennie back ahead of schedule. Minor concern with Luca DLT….but still time to get into his clubs plans. Aaronson off to a good start and can slot into the midfield trio. Minor concern with Reyna as well, but still time for him to get rolling.
    Attack (CF): Still a coin toss, but could see Hoppe break back into the conversation. Had high hopes for Sargent & Pepi to rebound….but just not seeing it (yet). Hoping they both hit a run of good form/confidence soon. Dike is done due to his latest injury….just don’t see him getting ahead of the others at this point. Tillman’s an option, but Ranger’s have been playing him as more of a wide attacker at this point.
    Pefolk getting minutes, but still not sold on him in our team.
    Attack (Wide): While we have good quality and depth (Pulisic, Reyna, Weah, Aaronson, Tillman)…I’m a still a little nervous that the top 3 are getting so few minutes (injuries, politics)….but still think we’ll be good come WC. Hoping this gets sorted out sooner than later and the top 3 guys go on a run soon.

    Reply
  2. Pulisic to Newcastle on a loan is absolutely a great move this year for him. I hope it happens. Newcastle will be a huge team in a few years with that money injection. If Pulisic can help Newcastle finish in the top 5 then a permanent move in the summer to a sleeping financial giant could be an aewesome career move.

    Heard rumors Balugon is weighing up a national team switch to the USA.

    Reply
    • Did you see something beyond that cryptic tweet that came out today? I couldn’t find it again so I don’t remember the author. When I saw it I thought it was just someone trying to get likes and retweets for long hinted Mighten switch.

      Reply
  3. Our depth is becoming impressive, but our top players have not started the season well between injuries and playing time. Thank goodness for Leeds! Probably we should be a little patient, see if Reyna starts playing, Dest either moves or starts playing. Sounds like McKennie might start today, well ahead of previous injury timetable.

    I’m torn on Pulisic, because I love that he keeps wanting to fight for his time at Chelsea, but it seems Tuchel doesn’t rate him, or rates him as a super sub only. You would think patience would pay off there as well, once champions league starts, there will be more rotation and you think pulisic gets some starts. On the other hand, I just wonder what he could do on a team that plays more to his strengths. I think he would be great on a more direct counterattacking team.

    Reply
  4. Hoping, Alvarado, Jr. gets some playing time for Vizela. I noticed he dressed but didn’t play, this weekend. He’s going to be a key piece for the US in the next U20 WC. It would be nice if more players in this young squad were getting 1st team minutes. AAJ , or double A, J; (I know the fans will come up with a better nickname if he stays with the US, that is.), was awesome for the US. Right now, McGlynn is starting more matches than any player from the U20s. Good for McGlynn’s development, which is a positive thing!!! I’m paying attention to AJ, especially after watching the U20 tourney. He’s a no doubt starter for this age group. I’m not suggesting that AJ starts, for Vizela, but it would be nice if he was 1st/2nd mid off the bench. (That coincides with Alex Mendez starting for Vizela, also.)

    Reply
    • I almost hope he doesn’t become that important because than Vizela might not release him. I like the plays 15-20 minutes every two three weeks, we’d really like him to test himself this summer strategy from the club. Do you know why Mendez didn’t play this week?

      Reply
      • I thought it was a tweak or something. I didn’t see any reports as to why he didn’t dress.

  5. Some good, some bad.

    Pepi got one minute. Pulisic got five. Dest didn’t get any. Reyna didn’t get any. Pulisic and Dest clearly need new homes. Not crazy about the idea of Newcastle for Pulisic – I’d prefer Juventus – or Man U (they look like a train wreck right now) for Dest, but there you go.

    Pepi’s losing his seat on the plane to Qatar as we speak. Brandon Vasquez is on fire, Jesus Ferreira scored two for FCD, Haji Wright’s back scoring in Turkey. Pefok, surprisingly, continues to get starts for Union Berlin. You have to think the Qatar field may have already narrowed to those four unless Pepi can really start turning it around, or Hoppe catches a hot streak in the next couple weeks.

    Or it could be Malik Tillman. The kid is scoring left and right for Rangers right now. Tillman helps his stock every week.

    Concerned about Reyna. I’ve heard he’s supposed to be Reus’s backup and successor but it’s concerning he isn’t getting minutes. Unless he gets healthy he could be the surprise exclusion for Qatar. Similarly concerned about the dings to McKennie and Weah. We NEED those two for a successful tournament.

    Reply
    • According to Dortmund manager they are just taking Reyna slow. He played 45 in the friendly and is still on schedule.
      —————————————
      I think I’m in the minority but I’m actually ok with CP only getting 5-15 minutes each week. Rested and less chance of injury. As it’s going now I don’t think Tuchel makes it to Jan. See where Schristisn’s options are in Jan either with new team or new manager.
      ——————————
      I don’t think Gregg will use Malik as a 9. He used him as a winger this summer and that’s what he’s played for Rangers. I think Gregg if he brings him will want him playing where he’s comfortable. A month ago I said I didn’t think he had a chance, now I’m not sure. A good series with PSV won’t hurt.
      ————————————
      I don’t see Pefok, Wright, and Vazquez all making it. They are similar type players, and don’t particularly fit how Gregg wants to play. I don’t see changing how everyone else plays for our 9s. Pepi was the 5th Forward Augsburg used over the weekend, needs a loan to 2.Bundesliga/Austria/Switzerland.

      Reply
  6. I think like 1%. I don’t think he’s ready to decide. Gregg’s strategy is honesty not make a ton of promises so I don’t see him offering him a spot in Qatar either. He’s been the starting CF for England’s U21 squad I think he’ll at least stay through the U21 Euros and then the Olympics.
    ——————-
    Supposedly Alex Mighten has turned in his one time switch paperwork but I think he’s more a WC 2026 guy not a now guy.

    Reply
    • razor – on Mighten (if he switches)….if we had a little more time before the WC I could see him pushing for a roster spot. Unfortunately with the limited amount of time remaining (Gregg’s slow to integrate new players), and there being a couple of Gregg’s favorites at the Wide Attacking positions (Arriola & Morris) I think you’re right in assuming he’s more of a 2026 guy.
      That said, if Weah, Reyna, and Pulisic don’t start getting minutes/stay healthy in the near future Gregg may get desperate enough that he starts thinking about Mighten.
      Current wide attacker pool: Pulisic, Aaronson, Weah, Tillman (playing there for Rangers), Arriola, Morris. I’d guess 5 make the 26 man squad….so Mighten isn’t that far behind in the pecking order even at this late date.

      Reply
      • I mean Mighten has 7 EPL minutes so I don’t see how that puts him the conversation if Reyna, Pulisic, or Weah need replaced.

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