USMNT

Tyler Adams is one of those unfortunate souls to have been born on a holiday. He celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday, Valentine’s Day, perhaps with his German-but-not-really-German girlfriend the Leipzig press is way too interested in. 

Though he just turned 20, he’s quickly become an integral part of the Bundesliga’s fourth-placed team. On Saturday, he played the full 90 minutes in midfield for the fourth time since joining the club in January. 

At this point I have to ask: Why is Wisconsin such a hotbed for American soccer overachievers? Jay DeMerit, the man from Green Bay, showed us all how it could be done, and now we have Andrija Novakovich, from Muskego, chalking up goals in the Dutch Eredivisie. 

I’m not mad, I just think it’s sad that Wisconsin is leading the way — this shouldn’t be their burden to bear.

POLITICS

After Borussia Dortmund blew a three-goal lead to draw with Hoffenheim earlier in the day, Christian Pulisic was probably hoping to get some help from his USMNT teammate Weston McKennie vs Bayern Munich in the late Bundesliga match on Saturday.

The Schalke midfielder had one great moment that had Dortmund and Schalke fans both thinking the Royal Blues could slow down Bayern. But it wasn’t nearly enough as the home side dominated the rest of the match on the way to a 3-1 victory at the Allianz Arena in Munich. 

Timothy Weah notched his third goal in five appearances for Celtic on Sunday after coming on as a late substitute against St. Johnstone and turning the game on its head. The 18-year-old American has only played a total of 142 minutes for the Scottish giants, but, on average, it’s taking him only 47 minutes per goal. The teenager has probably forced himself into Brendan Rodgers’ starting 11 after today’s display.

Sebastian Lletget scored his first career USMNT goal back in 2017 in Avaya Stadium in World Cup qualifying. Moments later he suffered a devastating injury. 

Finally back in the national team fold, Lletget returned to Avaya Stadium in Gregg Berhalter’s second match in charge. And wouldn’t you know it, he scored the winner. 

For the casual fan watching Europe, the 2019 January transfer window was by no means the most exciting in recent memory. In terms of what it meant for U.S. soccer, it was massive. 

More and more young Americans are heeding the words of one-time USMNT coach Jurgen Klinsmann and heading to Europe. More and more European clubs are welcoming young Americans into the fold. 

Bayern Munich has signed 17-year-old Real Salt Lake academy product Taylor Booth on a three-and-a-half-year deal, according to Sports Illustrated. Booth is a member of the USMNT U-18 team, and he was a part of the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U-17 World Cup.

After preaching the verb “compete” as one of the mantras of his new leadership, Gregg Berhalter began his reign as USMNT manager with a 3-0 victory over Panama on Sunday night. The first starting eleven of Berhalter’s tenure included five players making their international debuts, and three of them — Real Salt Lake’s Corey Baird, Chicago’s Djordje Mihailovic and San Jose’s Nick Lima — played huge roles in the opening two goals.

The third was created and finished by two more players making their international debuts — NYCFC's Jonathan Lewis and LAFC's Christian Ramirez.