Si bien el fútbol masculino entra en pausa internacional, la acción a nivel de clubes continúa en Europa gracias al estreno de la Champions League Femenina 2021-22, este martes 5 de octubre.
The USMNT has another weapon in the making. Joe Scally is only 18 years old and has become a consistent and valuable starter for Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach. On Saturday Scally opened his Bundesliga scoring account against Wolfsburg in stoppage time to secure a 3-1 victory.
For the first time in history, Americans will play in all three of UEFA’s European tournaments. This season is also the first time there have been three tournaments, but minor details. There are tons of Americans playing in Europe, but only 22 have made it to the group stages across the three competitions.
Here are the numbers for Americans playing in European tournaments.
First, let’s look at the 11 in the Champions League.
The excitement around the USMNT is warranted. The quality of our young core is evident in the roll call of clubs they play for: Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund among them.
But the expectations have to be tempered. These players are still developing, which is also evident in the roles they play for those teams. Gio Reyna started the highest percentage of league games with BVB at 67.6%, followed by Dest with Barça (60.5%) and then Pulisic with the Blues (47.4%) and McKennie with the Old Lady (47.4%).
History is written by the victors. When you reminisce about the biggest finals of recent times, you’re likely thinking of players like Megan Rapinoe at the 2019 World Cup, Kylian Mbappé in 2018, Carli Lloyd in 2015 or Mario Götze in 2014.
But there are those rare instances when an individual’s performance on the losing team — for better (Zinedine Zidane in 2006) or worse (Loris Karius in 2018) — lives just as vividly in the memory.
The 2020-21 season was a banner year for Americans abroad. USMNT players have been winning trophies all over Europe, including regulars at Barcelona, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund; in a week, we’ll see an American win the Champions League for either Chelsea or Manchester City. But Saturday was not a great day for keeping U.S. internationals in Europe’s top flights, with a number of Americans relegated to lower tiers or unable to gain promotion.
As domestic leagues across Europe enter the final weeks of their seasons, not only are league titles at stake, but qualification for next season's Champions League is also yet to be resolved.
Only 11 of the 26 automatic qualification spots for the UCL group stage have been officially determined, and more than half of the 55 playoff spots are up for grabs.
With so many bids up for grabs across the continent, tracking the qualification process can be very difficult.