It’s been a rough start for new boss Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham in the Premier League, where the club has opened the new campaign with three consecutive defeats, but the Hammers took a positive step forward by beating League One side AFC Wimbledon in the second round of the EFL Cup Tuesday.
Not since Clint Dempsey and Brian McBride were in the Premier League have American forwards been playing — and scoring — at the top levels of Europe at a rate they are now.
Christian Pulisic at Borussia Dortmund and Timothy Weah at PSG are two of the more prominent examples, but Josh Sargent is off to a strong start with Werder Bremen 2 and a pair of USMNT defenders scored in the Bundesliga over the weekend.
Chelsea kept pact with Liverpool and Watford at the top of the Premier League table by defeating Newcastle United 2-1 Sunday after an entirely forgettable opening 75 minutes sprang into life over the final quarter-hour.
For Newcastle supporters, the approach from Rafa Benitez harkened back to last December’s visit of Manchester City. The Magpies sat inordinately deep and ceded 81 percent of possession to the visitors while playing with five at the back and an incredibly grafting midfield pairing of Mohamed Diame and Ki Sung-Yueng.
Christian Pulisic has yet to lace up for the new season and Americans in the Bundesliga are already scoring goals in the German top division. Two USMNT defenders found the back of the net on the first full day of Bundesliga action on Saturday. (Bayern Munich opened the season with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim on Friday.)
John Brooks, the lanky Wolfsburg center back, headed in a corner kick for the first goal in a big 2-1 win over Schalke.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano made his Champions League debut and did it in style with a stunning goal in a wild 3-2 win over BATE Borisov on Tuesday.
How fast is Christian Pulisic? The 19-year-old American is usually deployed on the right flank by club side Borussia Dortmund — although he enjoys a more central role when playing with the USMNT — so he’s certainly no slouch when it comes to pace. However, what makes him such a precocious talent is that he’s no one-trick pony — he doesn’t only rely on his blistering speed to create chances and take defenders on.
According to The Sunday Times, a quality British broadsheet that usually doesn’t mess around, David Moyes is now a leading candidate to become USMNT manager. This is obviously just world-class banter from our friends across the pond, right?
Maybe we need to make this a weekly thing now. Hirving Lozano scored, again.
Mexico’s 23-year-old winger made it two goals in two Eredivisie matches, scoring the opener for PSV Eindhoven against Fortuna Sittard on Saturday.
Hirving Lozano scored in PSV’s season opener last week against Utrecht, smashing home first time as the reigning Eredivisie champion began its title defense with a 4-0 victory.
Brazil is coming to America for a couple friendlies in September, including an anticipated matchup against the United States in New Jersey. The Brazil vs USMNT roster is stacked and includes PSG’s Neymar.
Brazil’s first match since falling to Belgium in the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup will take place on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Four days later, Brazil plays El Salvador at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.
U.S. Soccer is still looking for a clear path forward after the shocking failure of the men’s national team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. In its search, the federation is turning to you, the soccer community, to help guide U.S. Soccer into the future in a new initiative called U.S. Soccer Voices.