USMNT Player Tracker: Strikers find form, mixed fortunes for Richards, Dest zest

Strikers scoring goals — it’s enough to give any international manager a warm feeling before the intensity level steps up a notch.

Gregg Berhalter can certainly take encouragement from the form of Folarin Balogun, who netted in Monaco’s draw this weekend, but he was not the only United States player to find the net in Europe.

Welcome to the USMNT player tracker where, each week, we update you on our United States players plying their trade in various leagues around Europe.

With the Copa America next year, and a World Cup on home soil on the horizon, we’ll be keeping tabs on how they perform.

Issue of the weekend

So, those strikers…

Balogun, who completed his big move from Arsenal to Monaco in August, scored the USMNT’s first in a comfortable 4-0 friendly victory over Oman in Minnesota last week, and continued his scoring form back on domestic duty in Ligue 1 with his first Monaco goal in their 2-2 draw at Lorient.

The 22-year-old New Yorker scored two minutes after coming on with a precisely angled left-footed effort. The substitute’s goal made the score 2-1 to the visitors and should have been the winner, only for Lorient to grab a point after equalising in the 98th minute.

“We did not get the result we wanted but I am happy to get my first goal for this team,” Balogun wrote on social media, and Monaco fans’ disappointment will be tempered by the thought of what their new striker can do when he is ready to start games for them.

Over in Germany, another USMNT attacker was reminding people what he can do in a dramatic six-goal thriller.

Jordan Pefok, full name Theoson-Jordan Siebatcheu, helped Borussia Monchengladbach to come back from three goals down and seize a point at Darmstadt in the Bundesliga on Sunday. It was his first goal for the club on his second appearance since joining on loan from Union Berlin in the summer.

Pefok was born in Washington D.C. to Cameroonian parents, but moved with his family to France at an early age. He joined Stade de Reims at seven, making his first-team debut in 2015. He has not played for the USMNT since March 2021, but will undoubtedly be lifted by the goal for his new club. He had failed to convince in Berlin, where he moved in 2022 after scoring 22 goals in a season for Swiss BSC Young Boys.

Since then, his largely barren form in the Bundesliga has led Berhalter to look elsewhere for attacking options, so now would be a good time for him to go on another hot streak.

Monchengladbach see him as an ideal target man. “Jordan is a classic centre-forward,” their sporting director Roland Virkus said last month. “He’s an anchor player in the centre — one who can hold up the ball, an experienced Bundesliga man who will help our attack.”

He links up with USMNT defender Joe Scally in Monchengladbach.

After those wins over Oman and Uzbekistan, the USMNT face Germany next, in Connecticut on October 14, and then Ghana in Nashville on October 18.

Player of the weekend

Give Weston McKennie his due — he knows a lifeline when he sees one, and how to grasp it.
The midfielder looked to be surplus to requirements at Juventus over the summer. At one stage, even his participation in the club’s U.S. pre-season tour seemed in doubt. But manager Max Allegri decided to give the midfielder a chance, and is reaping the benefits of his stance early in the season.

McKennie has adapted to a right wing-back role without complaining and featured in all four of Juventus’ Serie A games to date.

He made his 100th appearance for the Turin giants in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Lazio, which moved Juventus up to second in the table, and contributed an assist — looping a glorious long ball over the defence for Dusan Vlahovic to score.

He enjoyed an impressive afternoon, creating three chances in all, and was given a warm round of applause when he was replaced on 72 minutes by USMNT team-mate Timothy Weah.

Quote of the weekend

Despite the summer doubts, it seems McKennie is feeling settled at Juventus again and is enjoying feeling wanted in a way he admits he did not while on loan at Leeds United last season following the departure of American manager Jesse Marsch.“It kind of didn’t help when I got there… I went there because of Jesse Marsch and then two weeks after I got there, he was sacked,” he told The American Dream podcast last week. “I had four different managers in six months and one of my coaches honestly didn’t know who I was.

“I’m not saying he should but, if a player is coming in on loan, you should know your squad. He put me outside of the box for corner kicks, and in my head, I’ve scored 85 per cent of my goals in my career off set pieces and crosses.”

Graphic of the week

Just before the 2022 World Cup, Pep Guardiola gave the world an all-timer of a “what if” scenario when he stated that he would sign Fulham defender Tim Ream if he “were 24 instead of 34.” The U.S. international took it in stride, mentioning that Guardiola was misinformed and he was, in fact, 35 years old. While Luton Town may not be the staunchest of competition in this year’s Premier League, Ream put in a performance on Saturday that shows just how high he’s raised his level over the past couple of years under Marco Silva.

In a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage, Ream logged an eye-popping 156 touches. He did not seem uneasy with so much of the ball, completing 148 of 156 passes. Even with the burden of increased volume, his 94.6 per cent completion rate was his highest in a Premier League start since August 30, 2022, when he connected on 95 per cent of his 69 attempts against Brighton.

He wasn’t just circulating the ball between him and center-back partner Issa Diop against the Hatters, mind you; 31.8 per cent of his passes were directed up the pitch, while the game state allowed him to attempt a remarkable 90 of those 148 attempts in Fulham’s attacking half.

After multiple cycles of rotation at the position, it’s a tragic irony that the undisputed best USMNT central defender is one who’s closer to 40 than 30. While he could be a vital part of a potential Copa America run should the USMNT qualify, it is hard to envision a 39-year-old Ream staying at the peak of his powers when the World Cup comes to North America.

Until then, however, he will continue to make his mark at the heart of Fulham’s defense.

Jeff Rueter

How did other U.S. players get on?

Name: Chris RichardsClub: Crystal PalacePosition: DefenceAppearances: 1

Finally, a chance for Richards to gain some meaningful game time for Palace in the Premier League this season.

Starting in central defence in place of the injured Marc Guehi, Richards did well but for one unfortunate incident. There was a solid early block on Villa livewire Moussa Diaby to snuff out a cross-shot from a tight angle.

He then had to endure being inadvertently kicked in the head in stoppage time at the end by Jhon Duran, moments after the former Chicago Fire striker’s stunning equaliser. Overall, though, seasoned Palace supporters were impressed by Richards’ solid, pacy display.

It’s why there was sympathy from the away fans, at least, at Villa Park when he was harshly adjudged to have fouled Ollie Watkins in stoppage time, despite seeming to win the ball with his sliding challenge. Referee Darren England pointed to the spot initially, then spent minutes scrutinising the pitch-side monitor at the behest of the Video Assistant Referee, before ultimately standing by his decision.

Douglas Luiz slotted the spot kick to make it 2-1 and Palace’s hopes of a point receded. Richards, who started both the USMNT games against Oman and Uzbekistan, was otherwise composed and confident and has served notice of his talent. Food for thought for manager Roy Hodgson before Saturday’s game against Fulham.

Name: Lennard MaloneyClub: HeidenheimPosition: MidfieldAppearances: 4

It was all action for Maloney who shone for Heidenheim as they continue to upset the odds since their promotion to the Bundesliga.

The club, based in a town of just 50,000 people, has won one and drawn one of their four games in the top flight so far, with Maloney flourishing in his new role. The 23-year-old Under-20 international, who joined from Borussia Dortmund in July 2022, has been converted from a centre-back into a midfielder and helped Heidenheim overcome Werder Bremen 4-2.

He won all his tackles, did not lose the ball once and remains a steely presence for the minnows.

Name: Ricardo PepiClub: PSV EindhovenPosition: StrikerAppearances: 3Goals: 1 

Pepi, another who had a successful international break with goals against Oman and Uzbekistan, maintained that form by converting a late penalty as PSV beat NEC Nijmegen convincingly on Saturday.

He had to win an argument with team-mate Chucky Lozano in order to get the right to take the penalty, and showed admirable nerves to dispatch it confidently having won that battle.

While Malik Tillman had to make do with a spot on the bench in Eindhoven, there was another start and a bright performance from USMNT team-mate Sergino Dest. The Barcelona loan star nearly created a goal with an eye-catching rabona cross as the hosts ran out 4-0 winners.

SERGINO DEST NEARLY HAD A RABONA CROSS ASSIST pic.twitter.com/RaBchh8uvL

— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) September 16, 2023

What’s up next?

All eyes on the Champions League’s opening week as the USMNT contingent look to make an immediate impact.

AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, a late substitute in Saturday’s 5-1 derby defeat to Inter Milan, welcome Newcastle United to San Siro on Tuesday. Pepi and Dest travel to London on Wednesday hoping to hurt Arsenal, while Brenden Aaronson’s Union Berlin face a daunting trip to the Bernabeu to take on Real Madrid in their first-ever game in Europe’s elite club competition.

Additional reporting: Jeff Rueter