As the Americans Abroad contingent grew to new heights over the past season, many players impressed in some of Europe’s top leagues.
From Christian Pulisic’s continued production at AC Milan to Antonee Robinson and Haji Wright’s positive campaigns with Fulham and Coventry City respectively, there was plenty for American soccer fans to be excited about heading into a busy international summer schedule.
Josh Sargent answered the call for Norwich City, Jonathan Klinsmann jumping back into a No. 1 role, and Richie Ledezma logged ample minutes in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Here is a closer look at Larry Henry Jr’s Best XI for the past international season:
2024-25 SBI Americans Abroad Best XI
Jonathan Klinsmann, Cesena
28-year-old Jonathan Klinsmann racked up ample minutes in Serie B with Cesena.
The son of former USMNT head coach Jurgen, Jonathan made 29 appearances for the seventh-place finishers, helping Cesena reach the promotion playoffs before falling to Catanzaro. Klinsmann registered eight clean sheets in the process, setting a new career-best in single-season appearances.
Ethan Horvath endured relegation with Cardiff City, but still did well in limited opportunities.
Richie Ledezma, PSV
Richie Ledezma was thrown into the right back role at PSV and did not disappoint.
Ledezma logged 2,540 minutes in Peter Bosz’s squad, scoring one goal, and registering one assist. The midfielder-turned-defender featured in four different competitions for the reigning Eredivisie winners, showing his versatility in a new role for the club.
Ledezma seems likely to be part of the Mexico pool for the foreseeable future, but Mauricio Pochettino could come knocking after watching the 24-year-old impress in his new opportunity.
Borussia Moenchengladbach’s Joe Scally delivered another strong season for the Bundesliga side, featuring on both sides of the backline, and rarely missing time.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Celtic
Cameron Carter-Vickers’ trophy cabinet is getting filled fast.
Carter-Vickers played a leading role once again for Scottish champions Celtic, logging 42 appearances across all competitions. The USMNT center back scored two goals for the club, helping Brendan Rodgers’ squad repeat as league winners, and also lift the Scottish League Cup.
Carter-Vickers remains one of several center backs eligible for 2026 USMNT duty despite being left out of the Gold Cup roster.
Chris Richards, Crystal Palace
Chris Richards enjoyed his best season yet at club level.
The 25-year-old defender has made 29 combined appearances for Crystal Palace this season, scoring one goal, and adding one assist. Richards helped Crystal Palace win the FA Cup, qualify for Europe, and enjoy a positive end of the league season.
He has entered USMNT camp on high note, earning Gold Cup group stage Best XI honors as well.
Auston Trusty and Mark McKenzie both enjoyed positive moments throughout their club seasons and will remain in the USMNT plan for the fall/winter.
Antonee Robinson, Fulham
One season after a career-best year for Fulham, Antonee Robinson has impressed yet again.
Robinson was one of Fulham’s best players this season, registering 10 assists in 36 combined appearances. The USMNT left back continued to show why some of Europe’s big clubs are circling him for a potential transfer target this summer.
In addition to being a lockdown defender, Robinson’s final-third delivery continued to blossom.
His absence from the USMNT roster certainly hurts, but keeping Robinson fresh for the new season is just as important.
Caleb Wiley and John Tolkin both showed promise in their moves to new clubs, setting the stage for what could be a bigger 2025-26.
Tyler Adams, Bournemouth
Bournemouth fans were finally able to see the best version of Tyler Adams this season.
Adams returned to full fitness for the Cherries, making 32 appearances across multiple competitions. The USMNT midfielder was one of the key figures in Andoni Iraola’s squad, which certainly helped Bournemouth remain in the European race as long as they did.
Keeping Adams healthy heading into 2026 will be key, especially given his track record of missing ample time in recent years.
Gianluca Busio remained a consistent performer for Serie A side Venezia, earning Honorable Mention honors for this spot. Busio scored two goals in 33 appearances, logging over 2,500 minutes of action.
Johnny Cardoso, Real Betis
There might not have been a more productive American midfielder this season than Johnny Cardoso.
Cardoso made 46 appearances for La Liga side Real Betis, scoring four goals and adding one assist. The New Jersey native was Mr. Consistency in Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, featuring in the Europa Conference League, as well as both of Spain’s competitions.
Cardoso has become a fan favorite in Betis, but looks set for a move to Atletico Madrid, continuing his rise at club level.
Paxten Aaronson enjoyed a positive loan spell with FC Utrecht, continuing what has been a strong start to his European career. He will now aim to play a large role in the Eintracht Frankfurt squad for the 2025-26 Bundesliga campaign.
Malik Tillman, PSV
Moving to PSV has been the spark for Malik Tillman in his club career.
Tillman scored 16 goals and added five assists for PSV, rebounding from a few injuries to play a large role this season. The attacking midfielder has returned with a bang, helping PSV come out of nowhere to retain the Eredivisie title.
He has since carried that production over to the USMNT this summer.
Weston McKennie enjoyed a productive campaign for Juventus, scoring five goals in 47 appearances. The USMNT midfielder should remain a starting option in Igor Tudor’s squad going forward.
Christian Pulisic, AC Milan
Christian Pulisic has surely enjoyed life in Milan.
The USMNT star has delivered another stellar season for the Rossoneri, providing 17 goals and 12 assists to date. Pulisic logged 3,650 minutes, winning the Supercoppa Italiana trophy.
Although he missed USMNT duty for rest, Pulisic remains the program’s leader heading into 2026.
Griffin Yow has continued to take steps forward for Belgian club Westerlo, scoring eight goals to date this season. Yow could be on the move this summer, but may remain in Belgium with several clubs calling.
Haji Wright, Coventry City
Haji Wright has made the most of his time in the EFL Championship.
The 27-year-old led Coventry City with 12 goals this season, returning from an ankle injury to help Frank Lampard’s reach the promotion playoffs. Wright’s physicality and versatility has led to him playing in multiple offensive roles, a theme that could’ve led to a large USMNT role if not for his recent Achilles injury.
Ricardo Pepi bounced in-and-out of the PSV starting lineup this season, but still contributed when called upon. Pepi totaled 17 goals to his name in all competitions, opening the door to a potential move elsewhere.
Josh Sargent, Norwich City
Josh Sargent made it double-digit goals for the second-consecutive season.
The Missouri native tallied 15 goals for Norwich City despite the Canaries missing out on the promotion playoffs. Sargent missed time through injury, but still remained a vital part of the Canaries squad, earning EFL Championship Team of the Season and Norwich Player of the Season honors.
Whether or not Sargent remains at Norwich City this summer remains to be seen, but if it was his last campaign at Carrow Road, he will go down as one of the club’s more recent positive signings.
Alex Zendejas continued to be one of Liga MX’s consistent offensive threats. Zendejas registered 12 goals and 12 assists for Club America, helping the club win the Apertura title and reach the Clausura final.
What do you think of the Americans Abroad Best XI? Who are you happy to see included? Who did we leave out that you feel deserved a place?
Share your thoughts below.
Interesting that Sargent has interest from Burnley, Udinese, Leeds, and Fiorentina and there are crickets about interest for Gio. I think of the Chuck Swindoll quote “life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I respond”. Both players have been hit by injuries and playing issues with managers, but Josh has responded each time, Gio just seemingly can’t.
IMHO, Gio would be wise to angle to replace Malik Tillman at PSV – Tillman is gone this summer, probably to Bayer Leverkusen – they’re literally talking about him as a replacement for Florian Wirtz.
I’d like Sargent in Serie A a lot more than I do in the Prem. Serie A is highly tactical and while like any league being an elite athlete helps, being coachable, versatile, and tactically aware is more important and Sargent checks all of those boxes. Sargent is basically Diet Karim Benzema and while he’s not as talented – though few are! – he has a similar skillset that fits Serie A/La Liga more than the Prem or Bundesliga, IMHO.
Pepi just needs to heal up and do it quickly. He’s by far the best fit of any of our strikers for what Poch wants his 9’s to do and if he’s healthy he’s our starter.
One thing I would caution people who are dismissing Agyemang about is he wasn’t just a college player, he was a D3 college player. I was very close to the Furman program, which is as good as it gets for D1 soccer – it produced Dempsey and Zimmerman, among numerous others – and I can tell you firsthand that while players do develop in college owing to level and practice time (25 hours a week max) it’s at maybe a third the rate (though with lower miles on the tires) than you would as a pro. People are like “Agymeng is 24” like he’s near his ceiling…he isn’t. In soccer-development years (and in terms of mileage) he’s 20 or 21 and a couple years at a high professional level and he’ll look very different. There are a dozen different areas he can improve in and while his first touch probably won’t get much better – that’s something you have to develop early or not at all – he’ll improve everywhere else. This is exactly the reason why I’d tell anybody who would listen that they needed to be looking harder at DeJuan Jones – in soccer terms he’s a lot younger and rawer than his calendar age and there’s still a good bit of upside to get even though he’s 26, and he’s up there with Jedi as an athlete, which is saying something.
Quozzel,
Labeling Sargent as Diet Karim Benzema and having a similar skill set is a HUGE STRETCH. Sargent has nowhere near the same level of technical skill, nor is he anywhere near as tactically adept as Benzema. Sargent is a lot more athlete than soccer player…that is why he is with Norwich in the Championship and not at a higher level.
The teams…Leeds, Roma, and Fiorentina…that are currently rumored to be interested in Sargent want him for his work rate defensively ( which those teams will be doing a lot of this coming season ) versus his attacking and scoring prowess. If Sargent was Diet Karim Benzema, a higher level team, with a more protagonistic approach, would have scooped him up a lot sooner.
Sargent is right where he belongs…in the Championship. If he jumps ship to Leeds, you can count on him having a low single digit scoring mark for the upcoming EPL season. For reference, see his time with Weder in the Bundesliga or Norwich when they last had a cup of coffee in the EPL, circa 21-22 season.
Regarding Agyemang, he is less soccer player and more athlete than Sargent. As you mention, technique is not something you suddenly find, or develop, at the age of 24. Props to him for the potential move of going from D3 NCAA soccer to the Championship, but he will top out there.
The analogy between Agyemang and De Juan Jones doesn’t work. As an outside back, you can be more athlete than soccer player ( not my preference, but it is feasible.) Not the case as a striker.
JR
The obvious difference between the two is that Josh’s team lacked BVB’s resources and really needed him to come through while at BVB there always was and is pretty solid competition for Gio’s place.
And of course Gio was GR90 from day one of his USMNT career. If he is prone to entitlement he’s certainly going to feel entitled about his USMNT spot.
Someday someone will explain the curious relationship between Gio and BVB.
The other thing is that because he is very closely identified with guys like Sancho, Haaland and Jude Bellingham, his success or lack thereof is always being compared to their success.
If Agyemang goes to Derby County USMNT fans will at least see the battle for the third spot behind Pepi and Balo. Wright, Dike, Sargent, and Agyemang. Should be interesting.Or will another striker come out of nowhere?
It’s interesting that only 4 of 11 from this list are with the national team now. Sure, there’s all different reasons why guys aren’t there, but if nothing else this shows how strong our national team can be.
Tillman has been bossing it since his retuennfrom.injury. 2 more goals and an assist today. He isnt going ro be a PSV player very long. I’m sure there will be inquiries this summe for his services.
If I were a European GM in a top 5 league, I would certainly be considering him. I wonder if Bayern has regretted selling him.
Gary,
“I wonder if Bayern has regretted selling him.”
No more than they regretted not holding on to Chris Richards, or Julian Green.
The Germans know there is a difference between the Gold Cup and the World Cup. And while PSV is a good club they are not Bayern.
While I’m sure Bayern are pleased by how well Malik is turning out it looks like Bayern released him because they figured he would probably develop faster somewhere he could actually play.
And it looks like they were right. I don’t see Malik starting for the current Bayern first team. Leverkusen sounds great but Ten Hag impressed very few people at Old Trafford and it could be a very challenging transition year for the team.
as someone who suggested the tillmans (tim also) for years while they were in germany and uncommitted here, i am going to point out that — similar to reyna and campbell — he was not getting capped while on their II team. we suddenly got interested when he went to scotland and holland. because this regime loves first team stats and he finally had some.
no sooner does he do that, than you want to send him back to germany. we have already run this scenario with pepi and sargent. it effectively cost pepi the last world cup roster.
i know holland is a selling league but same thing CCV and others. many of these guys toiled to finally start as adults and get the NT coach’s eye. he looks better than the guy who would take a couple steps to goal then shank it up to row Z from nerves. can’t we just sit still a sec?
IV,
“can’t we just sit still a sec”
Why?
Who TF are “We”?
Who died and appointed you “life coach” and career decision maker for these guys?
It’s their life and their money.
The USMNT could have a three and out ( it’s quite likely ) and Malik could go right down the toilet and then where would the demand for his services be?
Besides being obnoxious, it’s a bad idea, to get between a man and his money.
Malik filed his switch and played the USNT before he played for Rangers. He tore his ACL in 2020 and took a year to return. Even though he was limited in his minutes in 21/22 season Gregg still brought him in in June and played against Morocco and Grenada. He played 165 minutes for Bayern and Gregg called him in but he did play 1285 minutes for their II team that year. I wonder how did he play for the NT back then? Did he look not ready for the moment?
-Also Gio and Pulisic never played for Dortmund II they went straight from U19s to first team. Their current wunderkind Jamie Gittens also never played for BvB II, neither did Jadon Sancho, so that might tell you what they think of Campbell.
Haji Wright OUT, and Mr. “Jack of all Positions” Weston McKennie IN…….and it’s not even close, lol
Mckennie is starting and having more of an impact on his team that’s in 4th place in the Italian First division (higher than AC Milan!!!) …..than Wright is having for Coventry.
What does Weston have to do with Wright?
They don’t play the same role for the USMNT.
I don’t know whom he should replace, but I don’t see how he can be left out of a list of top Americans abroad. He is starting almost every game for Juventus.
this is precisely my concern about club snobbery. weston’s versatility and production makes him an interesting supersub option. his lack of a field position (and sloppiness in a possession scheme) makes him a poor starter.
Busio continues to somehow be included on lists like this….remarkable!!
Most shocking though is the GK situation…
A guy who lost his starting spot on a team regulated to League 1…..
Came back due to injury to starter…
What happened to the 3-4 premiere league guys of past???
Wayne,
It is cyclical.
Howard and Guzan, our last reliably international level keepers were done by 2017 if not before, so it’s been about eight years or two WC cycles.
Kasey started with the 1998 WC. Meaning we had our “BIG THREE” for about 20 years.
To some extent the hype about them is overblown. The entire situation was noteworthy mostly because it involved Americans.
I have not researched this in any depth but I’m confident that there have been other countries with a surplus of top- class keepers playing at the same time. What sets the Americans a little bit apart is that it was not really a competition so much as a line of succession. All three got to actually have their “moments in the sun” due to the fortunate timing of their careers and Brad’s USMNT retirement.
Brad did beat out Keller in South Korea but he retired from the USMNT after the 2002 World Cup leaving Kasey as #1 again. Brad said he was willing to be on call in the event of an emergency if asked but, as far as I know, he never was asked.
That retirement mattered because it reduced the wear and tear on Brad and accelerated the need for Howard to mature. Given how long Brad maintained a high level of performance, it is hard to argue with his decision. And it seems unlikely that he would left if not for the presence of Kasey and Timmy.
Howard eventually took over from Kasey in a move that was almost inevitable assuming Howard proceeded as expected. Of course, even if Timmy went bad, there was always Brad and Kasey around to take over until he could be straightened out.
Outside of the big three there were also a number of other solid looking keepers who never had a real shot at the USMNT regular slot like Hahnemann, Rimando, Juergen Sommer, etc.
One of the cruel aspects of the keeper position is that only one can play and managers usually do NOT rotate keepers.
Meaning you could be a world class keeper yet only play a handful of games for your national team if there is another equally world class keeper around. This almost never happens with any of the outfield positions where they’ll get you on the field somehow or other. Witness England trying to play Lampard and Gerrard together.
For example, Allison Becker and Ederson, who I rate more or less equally, are both around 31-32 . Becker has 72 caps while Ederson has 29. Injuries have something to do with that but still.
I’m not overly concerned at this point. In Qatar Matt turned his game up another notch and was fine. Here, assuming no surprises, I expect Zach Steffen to do the same. And if he can’t you never know Ethan and/or Matt might be able to stand on their heads for a bunch of games.
It’s not ideal and it won’t be at the level of the big three but beggars can’t be choosers and the USMNT will just have to make up for it in other ways.
I always thought Guzan was overrated: often megged, beaten near post, and constantly kicking the ball out of bounds without being pressured.
That being said, I wonder how much potential development of other ‘keepers was wasted on nepo baby Jonathan Klinsmann. Now one of our greatest strengths is one of our biggest weaknesses: no goalie starting in any of the top 5 leagues? What happened? We are awash with midfielders and a few wingers, but no big-time defenders whose talent was developed in the US, and no strikers to put the ball in the net. We had the players to bunker and counter, but that peaked in 2010.
I think one reason our GK’s got a lot of attention is that they all played in top 5 leagues, often distinguished themselves, when few other Americans were playing so well at that level. Thus, the GK’s stood out even more than might have been the case if we had as many good out field players as we do now.
DC Josh, if you look at the US GKs around Klinsmann’s age group they’re pretty weak. Really there aren’t any that are regulars in MLS at this stage (27,28, or 29 which should be prime time for keepers). You have to remember in that era most keepers were still going the college route. Matt Freese would be the closest that would have been eligible for 2017 u20 WC. Freese didn’t become a regular until last year. Marcinkowski started for a few years on bad SJ teams but is a bench player now. Brady Scott people were high on because he was bought by Koln, but he was 18 in 2017, was a starter in 2019, but never got any traction as a pro. Oddly Klinsmann, Marcinkowski, and Scott all have spent time recently as Galaxy backup keepers. The lost generation of keepers falls in that era. It explain how a guy like Turner who picked up the game late and played for a small college can make his way to lock starter for the NT. CJ Dos Santos (24) has shown some progress having finally gotten good minutes with San Diego and Schulte (24), Slonina (20), and a few other young players have promise. Klinsmann is probably the “closest” to a top league starter we have, given he’s at least in the Serie B playoffs.
hopefully i am not double posting but i see two main problems as
1) a somewhat perverse shift in our emphasis towards how well the keeper passes (as opposed to catches), similar to our wingbacks now seem to be picked for attacking more than marking
2) teams usually use one keeper most of the time, MLS now allows 8 foreign players, and so more teams just buy an experienced foreign keeper
i mean, young klinsi had like 15-20 appearances for LA over several years.
even when a MLS starting job falls in the lap of someone like gaga they quickly run off to europe before they have their crap fully together, bounce from job to job on loan.
and it’s not like playing attacker or back where you can be slotted in various spots or come off the bench regularly. most clubs there is “a” 1 jersey. if you don’t get that you barely see the light of day for a cup game or injury. that is not good for development.
so to me, back to first principles, if you want top keepers, go back to building shot stoppers and worry about ball at feet second. and either reduce the foreign player limit or create a “project 40” type team where the top prospects could play on a separate MLS team and get minutes.
we resist anything that impacts MLS teams’ dibs on prospects but then a lot of prospects just rot on a II team or the first team bench.
on #1, it’s not perverse…a GK should be able do both very well. The End
re. wingbacks, they too should be able to do both very well. why just one or the other IV? come on man
I’m a big fan of Haji, but I would have to push Tillman up to forward to make room for McKennie in midfield. If you’re indispensable for Juventus, you should be in our XI.
And Pepi did everything but stay healthy this year. I agree that Sargent just shades him for the XI, but I hope he’s getting 30 minutes off the bench.
McKennie?
Right?! Not even a sniff. Griffin Yow gets a mention and Busio. I mean sure give the nod to Tillman is stats are your thing…I get that. But talk about snub city.
i see campbell paredes yow as the next up and coming wing players. you get them matured, they are both skilled and athletic, why are you even bothering with cowell clark zendejas and the other mediocre rubbish.
Overall a good season by our Yanks abroad, but man, such a tough situation for us at GK.
The worst it’s been for some time, and to think that was always a strength of US soccer
This seems to be a constant refrain here, but I did not see Turner make any mistakes during the Nations League games. One thing I do see here often is a couple of posters will criticize a player for something, it gets repeated, and then it becomes accepted as truth regardless of how a player does afterwards.
Not a mistake, but a NT keeper should probably have done better on the Panama goal. You face one shot on goal in 90+ minutes you’ve got to stop that one shot, even if Waterman did place it really well. Especially since shot stopping is what you have Turner in for because he isn’t a great distributor.
Turner’s feet make the whole back line shaky in possession, it’s an issue, though he is typically a super shot stopper. has nothing to do with people saying things and others falling in line, it’s just the way it is
to me the mistake is process. when poch took over this needed to be opened back up to about 3-4 top keepers. poch instead basically just xeroxed GB’s choices to start. we have a fair amount of regularly selected frustrating players. they are only now getting competition.
we have then repeated our process mistake by just handing the job to the next guy without any proof of concept. so he’s not competing with anyone, not turner, not someone else.
this is being decided on paper or emotionally. when that is the case, the opinion on turner is set and hard to shake until some sort of reset period passes. like with steffen. or pepi. or a list of others who have been revived recently.
to me, you don’t pick on paper, you don’t get worked up, you rotate the job among a few candidates, and you let the NT games decide. you do that, implicitly your isolated gaffe recedes back into the body of work and you make a gestalt decision. we kind of flip out on the old one, annoint a new one who has barely seen the field, go with them a while, they make a glitch, toss aside, try another. quit picking winners so fast.