Several Americans were in action over the weekend. Over in Germany, Fabian Johnson and Bobby Wood both kept their hot streaks going and Christian Pulisic made another appearance for Borussia Dortmund. In England, DeAndre Yedlin started for Sunderland, and the decline of American goalkeepers continued. Here is your update on Americans Overseas:
- Christian Pulisic came on as a 64th-minute substitute in Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Hannover. That marks three straight Bundesliga appearances for the 17-year-old from Hershey, Pennsylvania. This was his longest outing of the three and, by some metrics, his best. It was certainly his most involved appearance. He completed 10 of 13 attempted passes, made 25 touches, and succeed in five out of five tackles. Pulisic is yet to make his senior squad debut for the USMNT, but he could likely be part of the team that takes on Colombia in the final round of Olympic qualifying next month.
- Bobby Wood scored a nice breakaway goal for 2. Bundesliga’s Union Berlin. He has scored in each of Union’s last two matches and now has nine goals this season. Wood is an interesting player to follow. He has had success in the USMNT setup before but continues to ply his trade in the lower levels of German football. Sure, he has proven successful in an environment where he can get a lot of playing time, but it might be beneficial for his prospects if he had to fight into a more talented side. Perhaps his successful stint in the second division will draw the eyes of a lower end Bundesliga club, or perhaps a club from outside Germany.
- Also scoring in Germany was Fabian Johnson. He scored the opener in Borussia Monchengladbach’s 3-2 defeat to Hamburg. That was his fifth Bundesliga goal to go along with a pair of Champions League goals on the season. All but one of his goals have come since he was sent away from the national team back in October. His USMNT prospects have been looking up as of late, though. He can continue to succeed, as long as Klinsmann uses him in a wide midfield role instead of keeping him buried in the back line.
- DeAndre Yedlin, by the numbers, had a strong game against Manchester United. Although his most visible contribution to the game was losing track of Anthony Martial and allowing a goal. Other than that, he was five for five in tackles and accumulated a 7.6 rating on WhoScored, which was second only to Man of the Match Wahbi Khazri. Yedlin has two main things working against him right now. The first is he isn’t a consistent starter on his loan spell at Sunderland and that is because he doesn’t have one position. Is he a right midfielder who has a more offensive role or a right back who hangs back on defense and only makes the occasional run forward? In his nine starts with the Black Cats, he has served both roles without standing out at either one.
- Matt Miazga has been training with Chelsea and will make the trip to France for their Champions League tie against Paris-St. Germain. Anybody hoping that he sees the field in the absence of John Terry is dreaming, however. Despite the face that both of Chelsea’s starting center backs are injured, Miazga is still third or fourth in the back line pecking order. Branislav Ivanovic and Gary Cahill will start ahead of him and on the bench, Jake Clarke-Salter is still more likely to get on than the young American.
- The USA’s strongest presence in England has long been its pair of starting goalkeepers. That bastion of strength has been under attack of late. Tim Howard is likely moving back home to play for Colorado come summertime, which is probably a good move for him at this point. His USMNT prospects are pretty much over at his age and he will not figure in the 2018 World Cup. Why not live out his days back on home soil? The more concerning downfall is that of Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan. The 31-year-old has been the USMNT’s number one keeper of late, but he has been on the bench for each of Aston Villa’s last three matches (two of which were Villa defeats by a combined score of 8-0). It would be in his best interest to depart Villa at the end of the season if he doesn’t regain his starting job. Without consistent playing time, he is in danger of losing out on his starting spot with the national team.
This last item is easily the most concerning for fans of the US Men’s National Team. For decades, near world class goalkeeping has been the constant amongst a sea of question marks for this squad. The side is now entering a transition period where they are forced to move on from Tim Howard without a clear cut replacement. Bill Hamid looked like the heir apparent, but his knee troubles are keeping him off the pitch for the foreseeable future. With Brad Guzan in decline, who does that leave as the USA’s next big goalkeeper? Nick Rimando? William Yarbrough? Do either of these guys have what it takes to step up and take the next place in American goalkeeper history? Only time will tell, but none of these men have really stepped up on their clubs to warrant that type of praise.
Main Photo: Martin Rose, Bongarts/Getty Images
