Player Profile

Even though the EFL Championship is not easy to find on American television spare ESPN+, soccer fans will have at least heard about Norwich City, Leeds United and Sheffield United’s push for the top two promotion spots. Usually, the teams and players at the top of the Championship get a lot of the rare press and rightly so, but there is one hidden gem not in the top six in England’s second division that could soon light up the Premier League: Jarrod Bowen.

Uruguay thumped Thailand 4-0 Monday to capture the 2019 China Cup, but the real story of the match was captain Diego Godín collecting his 126th cap for la Celeste, making him the record holder in that department for the two-time world champions.

When Denmark convenes for a friendly against Kosovo (March 21) and a massive Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland in Basel (March 26), it’ll do so without an attacker that many are desperate to finally see at the senior level — 22-year-old FC Copenhagen winger Robert Skov.

It was a great weekend for teenage homegrown players in Major League Soccer as two academy products — Toronto FC’s Ayo Akinola and the Philadelphia Union’s Brenden Aaronson — marked their first starts with goals.

Akinola is a 19-year-old who’s recently been called-up for the U.S. pre-U-20 World Cup training camp in Spain. The Detroit-born forward appeared in four matches as a substitute for Toronto last year, totaling only 45 minutes. 

However, on Sunday he was given his first start, went 85 minutes in the 3-2 win over New England and scored his first goal.

Following his $26 million transfer from Atlanta United to Newcastle United, expectations are high for Miguel Almirón on Tyneside. A large part of that is because St James’ Park has been desperate for an inspirational attacker to idolize, but also because the club sits only two points above the drop zone — a predicament that’s thanks in large part due to a haul of only 21 goals in 25 games (the second-worst total in the division).

There’s always more to like about AFC Bournemouth: the 11,329-capacity Dean Court; cherubic 10-year-old boy whiz manager Eddie Howe; the fact that the club was in the fourth division as recently as 2010 but now sits comfortably in 10th during its fourth consecutive season in the Premier League (following on finishes of 16th, 9th and 12th). 

It’s no revelation that it’s become increasingly difficult for youth players to make the grade at clubs of a certain stature. From Barcelona’s La Masia to Bayern’s Junior Team, potential first team prospects struggle to make the breakthrough while the world’s richest clubs continue to look outward rather than promote from within.