History made, aerial battles and broken droughts all feature in this instalment of the USMNT Player Tracker.
Each week, we will be bringing you updates on how the USMNT players and aspirants plying their trade in various leagues around Europe are faring.
With the Copa America this year, and a home-soil World Cup looming ever larger on the horizon, we’re keeping tabs on how they are performing.
Main story of the week
PSV Eindhoven’s American trio made history on Tuesday night, as they helped their team to a draw with Borussia Dortmund in their last-16 Champions League tie.
When Ricardo Pepi came on as a 75th-minute substitute at the Philips Stadion, it marked the first time that three U.S. internationals have featured in the same Champions League knockout-stage game.
Each played their part in a strong performance from Peter Bosz’s formidable team, who are unbeaten in the league, and now head to Germany for the second leg of this finely balanced tie.
Malik Tillman was making his fourth start in European football’s elite cup competition this season and had an impressive game. Tillman could have pulled his side level in the first half when he dragged a right-footed shot wide that should at least have tested Alexander Meyer in Dortmund’s goal.
But he atoned for that when he won the penalty, via Mats Hummels’ sliding challenge, that allowed PSV captain Luuk de Jong to fire the hosts back into the game in the second half.
For full-back Sergino Dest, it was a strong performance, albeit one that was punctuated with misfortune. Donyell Malen’s opening goal for the hosts deflected in at the near post off his boot as he attempted to block it.
Dest was making his ninth Champions League appearance for PSV (John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
Later in the second half, the 23-year-old might have scored a scintillating goal when his slick footwork saw him glide past Julian Ryerson, but he fired his effort straight at Meyer.
Pepi, who scored the stoppage-time header against Sevilla in the group stages that secured PSV’s place in this tie, struggled to make his typical impact as a substitute in the closing stages, but he will have been encouraged by the show of faith from Bosz.
All eyes will now turn to March 13, when the USMNT trio will hope for a result in Dortmund that sees their remarkable season continue.
Graphic of the week
Player of the gameweek
It has been a challenging time for the Crystal Palace players who witnessed manager Roy Hodgson collapse in training last week and the ensuing uncertainty around his position until the announcement, delivered on Monday afternoon, that he had stepped down.
But the south London club’s players rallied to deliver a defiant performance in their Premier League showdown with Everton on Monday night, fortified from the back by Chris Richards.
The USMNT man had spent more time operating as an auxiliary defensive midfielder this season due to a long-term Achilles tendon injury suffered by Cheick Doucoure in November. But, in the absence of Marc Guehi, the 23-year-old returned to the defence for the previous loss to Chelsea and stayed there in a revamped back five at Goodison Park.
Facing Sean Dyche’s team is a stern test for any defensive unit — such is their power and threat from set-pieces — but, on the whole, Richards stood up well. He often had significant ground to cover with wing-back Tyrick Mitchell pushing forward but, generally, he and Palace more than held their own.
Richards tracks Everton’s Jack Harrison (Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Richards still has room for improvement in the Premier League; one lapse in concentration from a corner allowed Everton’s Amadou Onana to escape him and head in the hosts’ equaliser, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin out-jumped him on another occasion. Those two moments aside, he impressively dealt with the Merseysiders’ late rally.
The former Bayern Munich prospect will have to build more consistency into his game to thrive under new Palace manager Oliver Glasner, but his athleticism could appeal to a manager schooled in the Red Bull system which requires high-intensity pressing. Similarly, Glasner’s desire to play three at the back bodes well even once Guehi returns to full fitness.
Quote of the weekend
It has been a long time coming — almost 18 months, in fact — but Brenden Aaronson was back on the scoresheet on Saturday.
The USMNT midfielder had not scored for his club since August 2022 — back when he was at Leeds United in the Premier League. But on Saturday, he finally broke his drought with the only goal of the game to clinch a win for loan club Union Berlin against Hoffenheim.
Aaronson, 23, has had a challenging campaign given Union’s fluctuating form and his own infrequent starts in the first half of the Bundesliga season.
He was on the bench again at the weekend but responded in the best way possible with his game-changing appearance.
“I had to be patient,” Aaronson told Bild afterwards. “My time hadn’t really come yet. But I kept working, went to the gym and practised shooting after every training session. I wanted to be ready to take advantage of my chance when it came.”
His coach Nenad Bjelica was impressed, adding: “Aaronson’s finish was excellent.”
Aaronson, No 7, converts for Union Berlin (Helge Prang/Getty Images)
How did other U.S. players get on?
Name: Griffin Yow
Club: Westerlo
Position: Left-wing
Appearances: 16
Goals: Six
The Virginian is having a superb season in the Belgian Jupiler Pro league, where he has now contributed six goals and two assists in 16 league games.
In Friday’s impressive 2-1 win over Standard Liege, he helped create his team’s opener and then clinched all three points with the game’s winning goal, a right-footed effort just after the hour-mark.
His numbers are all the more impressive given the 21-year-old missed the opening 10 games of the season due to a knee injury.
Yow has impressed this season at Westerlo (Isosport/MB Media/Getty Images)
Name: Josh Sargent
Club: Norwich City
Position: Striker
Appearances: 15
Goals: 10
Sargent is making up for lost time this season with more goals. This time a brace in Norwich’s 4-1 win against Cardiff City on Saturday. He has chalked up double figures for the season — that’s actually 10 Championship goals in 11 starts since recovering from a serious ankle injury.
It was far from a happy afternoon for everyone associated with the United States at Carrow Road on Saturday, though.
Conceding four goals for Cardiff was USMNT goalkeeper Ethan Horvath, who joined the Welsh club earlier this month from Nottingham Forest. It was his second appearance for the Bluebirds and meant back-to-back losses for his new side, having lost 2-0 to West Bromwich Albion the Tuesday before.
Sargent went close to a hat-trick, too, with an effort blocked on the line by Cardiff defender Nat Phillips after Horvath had been caught out of position.
Sargent and Horvath contest for a loose ball (David Watts/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Name: Taylor Booth
Club: Utrecht
Position: Right-wing
Appearances: 13
Goals: Five
The 22-year-old has been enjoying a fine time in the Netherlands, with five goals in his last three games — but had a worrying downturn in Utrecht’s 1-0 win over Twente on Sunday.
Booth had to be helped off the pitch after 22 minutes and was later photographed leaving the stadium on crutches.
Name: Kik Pierie
Club: Excelsior
Position: Centre-back
Appearances: Five
Goals: One
The 23-year-old defender has missed most of the Eredivisie season for his club with an ankle injury but returned to fitness in January and has won his starting place back this month. On Saturday, he scored in Excelsior’s 4-2 defeat by Sparta Rotterdam.
Pierie’s Dutch academic parents were working at Harvard in Boston when he was born. Although eligible for the USMNT if he chooses to, Pierie has so far chosen to represent the Dutch international youth sides.
Pierie has regained his first-team place at Excelsior Rotterdam (Wim Wobbes/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
What’s coming up?
(All times Eastern)
See if Real Betis’ Johnny Cardoso can continue his impressive form as his Spanish club are in Europa Conference action against Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday (12:45pm, Paramount +).
On Saturday, Joe Scally and his Borussia Monchengladbach side face VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga (9:30am, ESPN+).
And back in England, we will see if Sargent can continue his red-hot goalscoring form as Norwich City travel to Blackburn (10am). Also on Saturday, Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson’s Fulham face Manchester United (10am, Peacock Premium).
(Photos in top image: Getty Images)
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