Daaaaamn. All 5 of our top midweek matches are in Champions League this week. Don’t act like you’re not impressed.
Pulisic should start, with Musah likely to appear as a sub for Milan. Don’t forget, Leverkusen was undefeated in Bundesliga last year, so this is as strong a test as Liverpool and Inter Milan were.
Tillman has been crushing it in Eredvisie this year, but PSV’s schedule has been easy. We’re really interested to see how he does against stronger competition than he seeks week in, week out in the Netherlands as his form is making a strong case to get in Poch’s starting 11.
It’s basically the same situation for Carter-Vickers and Trusty. Their match ratings are through the roof, but Celtic dominate every game they play in Scotland so they don’t really get tested. They’ll be tested by Dortmund so we have a chance to see how they fare against World Cup level competition. Expect CCV to start despite an injury, but if he doesn’t Trusty is the most likely sub. Either way we get to see a young American CB on a big stage. Unfortunately, Reyna seems likely to just miss out with his groin injury.
Weston McKennie was subbed off after 60 minutes of Juve’s match this weekend, when they were up 2-0. Classic move to rest a guy you want to start midweek. He’s also made 3 straight starts for Juve, so we feel good he’ll get the start against RB Leipzig. Weah though, will likely miss out after picking up an ankle injury last week.
Balogun should get the start for Monaco. After a rough start to the season and frequently being left out, he’s turned things around. He’s scored in 2 straight, and played the full 90 in both, after coming on and impacting the game positively against Barca in their last UCL match.
Here’s hoping these guys all stay hot and are in good form heading into Poch’s first USMNT camp in October.
Couple of honorable mention games for the true junkies out there:
1) Leeds v. Norwich – TUE 2:45PM ET; Aaronson and Sargent square off in the Championship
2) Inter Miami v. Columbus Crew – WED 7:45PM ET; check in on 2 GK candidates, Callendar + Schulte. See Schulte get the Messi treatment.
3) Lyon v. Rangers – THU 3PM ET; Tessman in Europa League
most recent usmnt Player Updates
10.4 – Weekend Recap
The last match window before the USMNT all gather in Austin for Pochettino’s first camp was action packed.
Pulisic scored, and was Milan’s best player, again! It’s almost every game this year he’s been either the best player by the data or as voted by fans. …But we get some bad vibes from his teammates twice stripping him of the PK responsibility against the coach’s orders. Theo Hernandez and Tammy Abraham both had their PKs saved by David de Gea – so they probably should have let Pulisic, who is 10/10 in his career, take them.
September 2024 “team of the month”
This is basically how the USMNT would line up in our first matches under Pochettino – if he made his decisions based ONLY on current club form. He obviously won’t do that – but it’s a cool way to look at who is playing well, and who isn’t, for the USMNT.
10.4 – Weekend preview
Best matches of the weekend, brought to you by #DosACero. This is the final match window before the guys head to #Austin for the FIRST CAMP WITH POCHETTINO. Here’s hoping for a strong set of performances, with everyone coming in hot. LFG!