For those of you wondering whether or not Christian Pulisic is rational and capable of completing basic mental exercises, an unnamed ESPN FC source has confirmed that in about 365 days, Pulisic will have been provided with an additional 365 days of experience from which to reminisce and reflect on, and he will do that.
The USMNT's World Cup qualification margin for error just got that much smaller, with the news that center back John Brooks would be out for the remainder of qualification. Brooks sustained a thigh injury during a friendly while playing for Wolfsburg in Germany.
Eighteen-year-old American midfielder Weston McKennie continued his meteoric rise through the ranks at Schalke 04 by making his first competitive start in the 2017-18 DFB-Pokal on Monday. The USMNT U-20 prospect joined the German club in August of 2016, and he made a substitute appearance last May in the Bundesliga as a reward for his performances with the academy team.
McKennie has since gone on to impress over the course of the preseason, and injuries to first team regulars resulted in his first-ever competitive start for the club against BFC Dynamo in the DFB-Pokal.
With 19 league assists in 30 matches, no player in Europe’s big five leagues had more than RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg last season. The 25-year-old Swedish midfielder was one of the breakthrough players in Europe in 2016-17, firing his club to an unexpected second place finish in the Bundesliga.
For a bit of context, Luis Suarez provided the second most assists in Europe’s big five leagues last season. His total was 13.
Maybe you’ve heard already, but this Christian Pulisic guy is pretty good. At 18, the Borussia Dortmund and U.S. men’s national team star has proven himself to be one of the best Americans in the game today. He has an impeccable first touch, composure in the box beyond his years and makes impressive runs on and off the ball.
Christian Pulisic isn’t named Lionel Messi, he doesn’t play for Real Madrid and he’s never been on the cover of FIFA, so many North American and British folk are rightly confused about just how good he really is. He’s only scored five Bundesliga goals, so he must suck, right? Not so fast, Paris Saint-Germain’s latest die-hard supporter!
Bayern Munich fans and coach Carlo Ancelotti might be experiencing some heart palpitations right about now. The German side’s much-anticipated loan signing, James Rodriguez, has been diagnosed with a leg muscle injury that threatens to keep him out for several weeks. The injury occurred in Bayern’s 3-0 Audi Cup loss to Liverpool yesterday.
Meet Amine Harit, a French U-20 attacking midfielder who just arrived at Schalke 04 via Nantes for $9.5 million. He's not a global sponsor for Nike, Gillette, Panasonic or Beats by Dre, he's never had his own custom Air Jordan sneakers or been featured on the cover of Pro Evolution Soccer, but he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in world football today.