USMNT

Barcelona have completed the signing of United States full back Sergiño Dest from Ajax for $24.70 million plus five more in variables, the LaLiga side said on Thursday.

Barca's statement added that Dest, 19, had agreed to sign a five-year contract with a release clause of $470 million. Dest, who broke into Ajax's first team from their academy last season and has played three times for the U.S., will be officially presented on Friday.

Christian Pulisic has been sidelined for over a month with a hamstring injury that he suffered during the FA Cup final. Chelsea and USMNT fans alike have been eager for the return of the Blues’ new No. 10. The latest Pulisic injury update is a good one and it comes from Captain America himself.

Christian Pulisic: “I’m feeling very good and very ready to play.” pic.twitter.com/yD91i7hEV9

The first ever Gold Cup Group Stage Draw has pitted the USMNT against the foes from up north, Canada. Joining the U.S. and Canada in Group B is Martinique and the winner of a play-in round that will be one of the following teams: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bermuda, Barbados or Haiti.

In case you are unfamiliar with the structure of the 2021 Gold Cup, I refer you here. 

The Schalke-Werder match has lost a bit of luster from an American perspective since Weston McKennie joined Juventus on loan. Indeed, David Wagner’s side has been miserable since losing his American midfielder to the Italian giants, having opened the season with an eight-goal defeat to Bayern Munich.

But there was still one American featuring in Saturday’s Schalke-Werder match, and he made himself known. 

Josh Sargent, the 20-year-old Missourian striker, set up Werder Bremen’s first goal with his sparkling red head to help his side to a 3-1 victory on Saturday.

On Dec. 11, 2018, Manchester City and the Columbus Crew agreed on an estimated $7 million transfer fee for American goalkeeper Zack Steffen. After 653 days, the Pennsylvania native can now officially say he has played for Manchester City. The monumental Zack Steffen debut that us American outlets hyped up ended up being a quiet occasion.

It’s been a challenging couple weeks for Americans keeping tabs on Yanks abroad. With Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Sergiño Dest making headlines, Zack Steffen’s new role as understudy to Ederson at Manchester City has been largely overshadowed.

U.S. Soccer on Tuesday announced its men's national team will not play any international matches during the upcoming window in October due to COVID-19 concerns.

The U.S. has not played since defeating Costa Rica 1-0 in February in Carson, California.

Friendlies against Netherlands and Wales were postponed in March, along with the Concacaf Nations League final four in June and the start of 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in September.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s for the best that existence is chaos. The bedlam of it all allows for mobility, freedom and expression; it allows for the unpredictable moments that make it all worth while.  

That’s not to say that all’s well with chaos: the tumult breeds disorder and confusion, and this frightens many people that demand a concise explanation for all things. 

Andrea Pirlo’s first match as Juventus manager included debuts for 22-year-old American Weston McKennie and 20-year-old Swede Dejan Kulusevski, and both young talents did their manager proud in a 3-0 victory over Sampdoria at Allianz Stadium. 

It was Kulusevski, the Serie A Best Young Player award-winner last season while on loan at Parma, who opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a left-footed curler from the edge of the area.

What a beauty!

RB Leipzig eased past Mainz 3-1 in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday to enjoy a successful start to league life without striker Timo Werner.

Werner joined Chelsea in the close season and missed their run to their Champions League semifinals in August but Leipzig had little trouble finding the back of the net against Mainz, striking twice in four minutes.

Emil Forsberg converted a 17th-minute penalty for a foul on Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen rose high to drill in a header for the second goal.