The USMNT defeated Panama 6-2 in Austria on Monday with braces from Nicholas Gioacchini (age 20) and Sebastian Soto (20) complimented by strikes from Giovanni Reyna (18) and Sebastian Lletget.     

Beating Panama isn’t the be-all and end-all in international football — unless you’re England, then you’re winning the 2018 World Cup — but it's the perfect barometer for how this USMNT (fielding its second-youngest starting lineup of all time) will handle itself come next summer’s CONCACAF Octagonal.

A new era of the USMNT dawned on Thursday with Giovanni Reyna and Konrad de la Fuente playing in a front three that’ll soon be able to call upon Christian Pulisic and Josh Sargent for assistance. Watching the U.S. isn’t just fun again, it’s blissful.

The 2020 Liga MX Apertura regular season (renamed Guardianes to honor healthcare workers) came to a close on Sunday to finalize positions for the reformatted liguilla.

The number of teams that qualify for the playoffs has been raised from eight to 12 due to the shortened season, although the top four teams still qualify directly to the quarterfinals whereas seeds five through 12 must now navigate a single-leg play-in round to make up the last eight.

It’s been almost a full year since we saw a USMNT with European-based talent defeat Cuba 4-0 to advance to the Nations League Final Round — although a largely domestic-based squad defeated Costa Rica back in February — but the U.S. is finally able to welcome its Yanks Abroad back into the fold for a pair of November friendlies against Wales in Swansea and Panama in Austria.  

There seems to be a growing consensus on social media that it’s job done after arriving at a European super club or that it’s only onwards and upwards for a player’s career from there. It’s hard not to get excited about CONCACAF footballers at some of the world’s biggest clubs, but it’s also worth remembering that the challenge really only begins once you get through the door.  

Look at Alexander Hleb’s career after arriving at Barcelona or Christian Poulsen at Juventus for examples of dream moves turned into living nightmares.

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.