There was a time when soccer in the United States was looked down upon by the elite leagues in Europe. A time when $73 million for a player from across the pond was unthinkable. My how times have changed.
From Christian Pulisic’s mega-money move from Dortmund to Chelsea to Gio Reyna turning heads in the Bundesliga, this week we’ll see us taking a look at the main American talents making a splash on the continent where the sport was born.
It’s the perfect time to do so as the United States Men’s National Team have a friendly against Wales on Nov. 12 (start time, 2:45pm ET) in Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. They will then play Panama on Nov. 16 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to complete the pair of games they have scheduled this internaitonal break.
Due to COVID-19 outbreaks and public health precautions, the only previous action for the Stars & Stripes in 2020 was a Feb. 1 victory over Costa Rica by the score of 1-0.
Gio Reyna Balling is in his Blood
The son of former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna and USWNT international Danielle Egan – his pedigree is clear for all to see whenever he steps on to the pitch.
Born in Sunderland in the UK during the heights of his Dads career, his international allegiance was hotly coveted. He declared his intention to play for the USA to Sports Illustrated adding “I only want to play for the United States, that’s my home country.”
It was a massive get for the USMNT set up after he had attracted interest from the Argentinian, Portuguese and English senior international setups
Just this month he has received his first senior call up for the USMNT friendly fixtures against Wales and Panama. He will likely earn his first cap on Thursday.
After lighting up the early stages of the Bundesliga and having an impressive youth representative career that included 16 goals in 31 appearances for the various youth setups, his call-up had an air of inevitability about it.
After spending time with the New York City FC Academy squad he was brought to Germany to play for Borussia Dortmund in 2019. Following a path trailblazed by Christian Pulisic, he was able to sign as 16-year old by securing a Portuguese passport.
He has been smashing records ever since.
The accolades he’s obtained in his short career so far include: youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, youngest goalscorer in the DFB-Pokal and one of the youngest players to compete in a UEFA Champions League knock-out tie.
Despite all of this he didn’t truly make an impression on the world scene until his hat trick of assists versus SC Freiburg.
The start of the 2020 season has seen him develop into an integral part of a youthful BVB side. After impressing in his maiden “Der Klassiker” start anything is possible for this talented youngster.
USMNT Golden Generation Profile Series
Christian Pulisic Gio Reyna Sergino Dest Josh Sargent Weston McKennie Zack Steffen Tyler Adams
Stuart Kavanagh is an up and coming journalist from Melbourne, Australia. A student of sports media, his passion for the world game, in particular, shines through. Always keen to discuss footballing matters, you can follow him on Twitter @futbolislife8