Celtic defeated Rangers on penalties in the Scottish League Cup on Sunday and can thank United States men’s national team defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Carter-Vickers, who will turn 27 on New Year’s Eve, has had his ups and downs this season. On Sunday he had one of his highlights of the season as he somehow stopped a Rangers counterattack despite being outnumbered four-to-one.
Mexican giant Club América defeated CF Monterrey with a 3-2 aggregate score to become Liga MX champions for a record 16th time on Sunday, turning into the first club to ever win back-to-back-to-back league titles since the installment of the two-tournament-per-year format in 1996.
Donovan is quite the counter-jinx to getting American players back into their best form.
U.S. men’s national team legend, Landon Donovan, made headlines in the last week after making bold comments on what he thinks Giovanni Reyna’s future move should be, suggesting the 22-year-old look for a transfer to MLS amidst continuous injuries and lack of playing time for Borussia Dortmund.
Welcome to this week’s edition of USMNT Abroad, where we bring you the latest updates on American soccer players making waves across Europe.
From standout performances to key transfers, rumors and injury reports, The18 has got you covered with all the action involving U.S. men’s national team players in Europe’s top leagues.
C’mon, you yanks!
USMNT Abroad this weekend: The latest on American players in Europe
Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)
Weston McKennie is on Cloud 9 after scoring a fabulous scissor kick goal against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. His biggest haters, Leeds United fans, appear to be in shambles on social media.
After Wednesday's game McKennie did an interview with CBS and was asked by Micah Richards about his loan spell with Leeds United.
A fantastic Weston McKennie goal vs Man City in the Champions League on Wednesday gave Juventus breathing space in a big 2-0 victory at home.
McKennie came on as a substitute against City, making his first appearance for Juve since Nov. 23. The American midfielder was out due to muscle fatigue.
He marked his return to the field with a literal bang as he and fellow American Timothy Weah combined for a glorious goal in the 75th minute to double their team’s lead.
Weston McKennie goal vs Man City
The latest Christian Pulisic injury update will disappoint AC Milan and United States men’s national team fans as the star forward has sustained a torn right calf. The tear is low-grade, but Pulisic will be out for 3-4 weeks.
Pulisic won’t play soccer again until 2025. That sounds bad until you remember that 2024 will be over in literally three weeks. We had a good laugh at how many news outlets made dramatic headlines of “PULISIC OUT FOR THE YEAR!” when the year is about to end.
Clickbait at its finest. We’re guilty of it too from time to time.
The Christian Pulisic injury vs Atalanta on Friday has United States men’s national team fans concerned after the American star was forced to exit the game in the first half.
Pulisic has had a litany of injuries in his career but has had a great streak of being healthy lately. Most of his injuries happened during his time with Chelsea. Since joining Milan at the start of the 2023-24 season, the 26-year-old has only missed two games with the club due to injury.
This Thanksgiving PSV will be thankful for their American players as United States men’s national team stars Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi recorded three goals in eight minutes for a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory vs. Shakhtar Donetsk.
Tillman, who started the game, recorded a brace with goals in the 87th minute and 90th minute to bring PSV level. The 22-year-old’s first goal saw him sneak the ball across the line at the near post with goal-line technology helping determine the goal.
Christian Pulisic’s incredible form this season was on full display during AC Milan’s 3-2 Champions League victory against Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday. A Pulisic goal vs Bratislava opened the scoring in the 21st minute.
The United states men’s national team star was used as a substitute during the 0-0 draw against Juventus on Saturday as he wasn’t fully fit after the international break. On Tuesday he was back in the starting XI and doing what he does best… scoring goals.
Tammy Abraham found the American with a great ball that got Pulisic 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper.