How USMNT players performed in Europe’s top five leagues: 26-28 February
The United States men’s national team is overseeing a golden generation of players in the leadup to the 2026 World Cup on home soil, with more American players than ever before plying their club trade at teams in one of the Europe’s top five leagues.
Here’s a roundup of how USMNT players in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 got on in the latest round of matches (26 – 28 February).
Position: Winger
Club: Barcelona
Having been on the bench in La Liga more often than not this season, albeit without actually making his debut in the competition, Konrad de la Fuente wasn’t involved with the Barcelona first-team over the weekend.
Instead, the 19-year-old Florida-born talent was with Barcelona B and played 89 minutes of their 1-0 win against Lleida Esportiu.
Position: Goalkeeper
Club: Manchester City
Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who is among the supporters of Common Goal’s newly launched Anti-Racist Project, remains the primary back-up for Ederson at Manchester City and was on the bench for his club’s 2-1 Premier League over West Ham on Saturday.
Steffen has played in the Premier League this season, against Chelsea in early January, but the majority of his chances have come in the EFL Cup and FA Cup.
Position: Centre-back
Club: Fulham
Tim Ream is still yet to regain his place at Fulham and was an unused substitute for a 20th consecutive Premier League game as the Cottagers drew 0-0 with Crystal Palace.
Ream hasn’t played a league match since defeat to the same side in late October.
Position: Centre-back
Club: Wolfsburg
John Brooks is usually a regular starter for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, but the 28-year-old was missing over the weekend for the club’s 2-0 win against Hertha Berlin through suspension.
He has otherwise started 20 Bundesliga games this season, with Wolfsburg in contention to finish in the top four and return to the Champions League.
Position: Left-back
Club: Fulham
Antonee Robinson played the second half of Fulham’s 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace, having been brought off the bench at half-time.
The 23-year-old, who qualifies for the USMNT through his American father, has usually been a starter this season.
Position: Winger
Club: Valencia
Yunus Musah returned to the Valencia starting XI in La Liga but only played 54 minutes of a disappointing 3-0 defeat against Getafe that left the club in 14th place.
The 19-year-old is no longer starting as regularly for Valencia as he was earlier in the season.
Position: Centre-back
Club: Hoffenheim
20-year-old centre-back Chris Richards is making the most of his opportunity since joining Hoffenheim on loan from Bayern Munich in January and started his third Bundesliga game for the club in their 1-1 draw with Union Berlin.
Richards had also started twice in the Europa League before Hoffenheim were knocked out.
Position: Centre midfield
Club: RB Leipzig
Tyler Adams played the full 90 minutes for RB Leipzig in a fifth consecutive Bundesliga win for the club that keeps them second behind only reigning champions Bayern Munich.
Leipzig came from two down to win 3-2 against Borussia Monchengladbach.
Position: Winger
Club: Lille
Timothy Weah appeared as a substitute for the final half hour as Ligue 1 leaders Lille looked to rescue a home game against struggling Strasbourg.
Lille were trailing but eventually got back on level terms to draw 1-1 late on. It was still a setback, though, cutting their lead over champions Paris Saint-Germain to just two points.
Position: Striker
Club: Werder Bremen
Josh Sargent scored the winner for Werder Bremen in their 2-1 comeback victory over Eintracht Frankfurt to kick off the Bundesliga’s weekend action on Friday night.
The win helped Bremen stay eight points clear of the relegation playoff, while Sargent has now started 20 of the club’s 22 league games season – a step on from last season when the Missouri-born forward was more of a rotational player.
Position: Attacking midfield
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Giovanni Reyna played just under 70 minutes of Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 Bundesliga win over Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday.
It was his first start in any competition since mid-February and his team were already 2-0 up by the time the teenager was replaced by Thorgan Hazard.
Position: Centre midfield
Club: Juventus
A goal in his last start against Crotone a week earlier wasn’t enough for Weston McKennie to keep his place in the Juventus XI on Saturday. Instead, the USMNT midfielder was a substitute and played the final 22 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona.
That result saw the champions fall a full 10 points behind leaders Inter, although Juve have still got a game in hand that could reduce the deficit.
Position: Winger
Club: Chelsea
Christian Pulisic made his first Premier League appearance since early February when he came off the bench for the final 25 minutes against Manchester United, having missed Chelsea’s previous three league matches.
Pulisic couldn’t make the difference and the game at Stamford Bridge finished 0-0.
Position: Right wing-back
Club: Barcelona
Sergino Dest was back in the Barcelona starting XI and played 90 minutes in a La Liga fixture for the first time since before Christmas.
Barça kept a clean sheet and won 2-0 in a vitally important away game against Sevilla in the race for a top four place.
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