American Players Abroad

SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia — Club Brugge made a perfect start to their Champions League Group F campaign after a stoppage time goal by Charles De Ketelaere gave them a 2-1 win at Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday.

After a drab first half, Emmanuel Bonaventure fired the visitors ahead in the 63rd minute when he swept in a rebound from two metres after Yaroslav Rakitskyy twice cleared close-range efforts by De Ketelaere off the line.

We at The18 figured it was true, but at least now we have one of the brightest minds in world football saying it too. 

Manchester United defeated West Ham 4-2 on Sunday for its fourth straight win in the FA Women’s Super League. USWNT stars Tobin Heath and Christen Press both scored their first goals for the Red Devils and 21-year-old English forward Alessia Russo added a brace in the victory.

United opened the scoring in the 20th minute after Heath’s merry dance out wide eventually led to a pass for Katie Zelem. Zelem picked out Leah Galton at the far post, and she put it on a platter for Russo. 

MADRID — Barcelona fell to their first defeat in LaLiga under new coach Ronald Koeman as they lost 1-0 at Getafe on Saturday.

Getafe forward Jaime Mata sent goalkeeper Neto the wrong way from the penalty spot to score the only goal in the 56th minute after Barca midfielder Frenkie de Jong had been penalised for treading on the foot of Djene Dakonam.

The Philadelphia Union are transferring homegrown midfielder Brenden Aaronson to Austria's FC Red Bull Salzburg after the 2020 MLS season.

The team said the deal announced Friday includes a record transfer fee for a U.S.-based homegrown player — "close to $10 million," according to NBC Sports.

Philadelphia Union have reached a historic transfer agreement with @redbullsalzburg for Homegrown Midfielder Brenden Aaronson.

The 20-man (boy) shortlist for the 2020 Golden Boy award was revealed on Thursday and it’s bursting at the seams with talent. Here's the full list of star players under the age of 21 that could win this prestigious award.

I’m thanking my lucky stars that I'm not in charge of choosing the winner because picking only one is nearly impossible.

Freddy Adu has signed with a professional club after a near two-year hiatus. Before I begin blabbing about America’s forgotten star let me provide you with the information you want. Adu signed with Österlen FF in the third tier of Swedish soccer.

The most avid Adu fans will have to do some super deep digging to find an Österlen FF stream and I wish them the best of luck. I know this isn’t the European club you were hoping for but at least Adu seems excited.

Serie A champions Juventus have sent their squad into isolation after midfielder Weston McKennie tested positive for COVID-19, the Turin club said in a statement on Wednesday.

However, Juventus, who made the announcement after forward Cristiano Ronaldo tested positive while with the Portugal national team, made it clear that training and matches would continue as normal for players who continue to test negative.