Men's National Teams

When 18-year-old phenom Timothy Weah takes the pitch on Friday for the USMNT’s headline friendly against Brazil at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, it’s likely that he’ll see three of his Paris Saint-Germain club teammates opposing him. With 90 caps to his name, Neymar is the most experienced of Brazil’s PSG bunch, but Thiago Silva (who’ll captain the side) isn’t far behind on 76, and defender Marquinhos has already represented the Seleção 27 times at the tender age of 24.

Celta Vigo sits third in LaLiga after three games on the back of a commanding 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Balaidos on Saturday. The ability of Celta’s backline to completely nullify the threat posed by Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa (Atletico didn’t land a shot on target throughout the entire match) saw its defenders marked out for individual praise, especially 27-year-old Mexico international Nestor Araujo.

Interim USMNT manager Dave Sarachan has named his 24-man roster for upcoming friendlies against Brazil (Sept. 7) and Mexico (Sept. 11), including 14 players age 23 and under. Christian Pulisic is the big name absentee after the winger suffered an injury while training with Borussia Dortmund, while 25-year-old New York Red Bulls defender Aaron Long is the only uncapped player in the squad.

With the retirement of Clint Dempsey earlier this week, the USMNT lost a legend, the greatest goal scorer the country has ever seen (on the men’s side, at least). So one of the few Americans left in the Premier League decided to pay homage to the Texan, as seen with this wonderful DeAndre Yedlin goal vs Manchester City on Saturday. 

Raúl Jiménez is enjoying a fine start to his Premier League career. Was. 

The former Club América forward spent a year at Atlético Madrid and three at Benfica before joining Wolverhampton on loan ahead of this season. He scored a late equalizer against Everton in Wolves’ first match back in the Premier League and has started every league match so far. 

But Saturday’s match against West Ham and fellow Mexico international Javier Hernández did not go so well for Jiménez.

PSV Eindhoven is turning into Pachuca East, or maybe the Dutch El Tri. After the incredible success of former Pachuca winger Hirving Lozano, the Erick Gutierrez PSV transfer was officially announced Thursday, the day after Chucky helped fire the Dutch club into the Champions League group stage. 

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After breaking through in monster fashion last season, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano somehow looks destined for even bigger and better things during his sophomore year in Europe. The 23-year-old Mexican winger already has two goals in three Eredivisie appearances, and now his two goals — including one today — in PSV’s 6-2 aggregate win over BATE Borisov have ensured the club’s participation in the 2018-19 Champions League group stage. 

Interim coach Ricardo Ferretti's Mexico squad for a pair of upcoming friendlies in the United States was announced on Wednesday. Of note, El Tri’s all-time leading goal scorer Javier Hernández was not chosen. Jonathan González, a 19-year-old native of Santa Rosa, California, was.

The Mexico squad will face Uruguay on Sept. 7 in Houston followed by the United States on Sept. 11 in Nashville, meaning González will have a chance to play against the country of his birth. 

 | NOTA