20230712 American States United

It’s Gameday:

The U.S. plays Panama on Wednesday night (7:30 p.m. EST, 📺 FS1) in the Gold Cup semifinals. On Sunday we were treated to the Best Worst Game of Football ever witnessed, as Matt Turner’s 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (29; Park Ridge, NJ) mighty paws helped carry the USMNT to a shootout win over Canada in the Gold Cup quarterfinals. Get a full recap of the Northern North America Border War by listening to Rog’s post-match podcast.

The Eagle Has Landed: Pulisic Arrives at AC Milan:

An entire nation of American football fans have been lifelong Rossoneri fans for nearly 72 hours now. Christian Pulisic 🇮🇹 (24; Hershey, PA) has arrived at AC Milan.

The updates are coming fast. Landing at the Milan airport. Filmed by fans after completing his medical. Picking No. 11 for the Rossoneri, taking over where Zlatan left off. It's all really happening. And from a Pulisic perspective, it must be a welcome next step on his footballing journey.

This AC Milan team he’s joining are built around a left winger, in the young Portuguese blur-of-speed centerpiece, Rafael Leão. But Pulisic has played on the right, and even centrally for the USMNT in a number 10 role. He’s also reuniting with Chelsea mates Ruben Loftus-Cheek and beard daddy Olivier Giroud. He should have a much better shot at regular playing time in Milan, getting the confidence boost he so badly needs. Plus, CP11 now has Champions League soccer.

We should all be elated for Christian, now that he has arrived at a place he clearly wanted to be at. And Milan clearly want him too. As Puli told Herculez Gomez on the VAMOS podcast, he wants to find joy in his club football again. Here’s to hoping he rediscovers that joy while wearing red and black.

Coming up tomorrow, we have a special YouTube exclusive with The Athletic’s James Horncastle who covers Serie A. He breaks down how he thinks Puli will adjust to Milan both on and off the field. SUBSCRIBE HERE SO YOU DO NOT MISS IT.

Aaronson Joins Union Berlin:

🗣 “I’m looking forward to the year ahead with joy and confidence, and want to help us have another successful season.”

So said Brenden Aaronson 🇩🇪 (22; Medford, NJ) to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Jonathan Tannenwald, upon joining Union Berlin on loan from Leeds United.

It all suggests a fresh start, and how much he has missed both of those feelings. Plus, Champions League football for Medford Messi? Playing with USMNT teammate Jordan Pefok 🇩🇪 (27; Washington, DC)? And two All-Aaronson derbies next season? Such a great move. So genuinely happy for Brenden.

USMNT Transfer Updates:

Pulisic and Aaronson have new homes on the continent, but there’s still plenty to be decided with a number of big-name Americans Abroad.

After being linked with Chelsea, Folarin Balogun 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; London, ENG) has reportedly emerged as a top target for AC Milan. Would truly be something to see him playing up front in Italy with CP11. Remarkably, the Rossoneri have also placed a bid for Yunus Musah 🇪🇸 (20; London, ENG), but talks may have stalled for now, as they apparently do not plan on increasing their offer. Remains to be seen how much further Project USAC Milan develops.

Dortmund have said they have no plans on selling or loaning Gio Reyna 🇩🇪, but it would seem that Borussia Monchengladbach are going to test their resolve, and try to bring the 20-year-old from Bedford, N.Y. over to Borussia-Park on loan. Gladbach are also reportedly making a play for Brandon Vazquez, but have been turned away by FC Cincinnati so far. This despite the USMNT striker being “very keen” on a move to the Bundesliga side.

Sergino Dest 🇪🇸 (22; Almere, NED) could be headed to either Fulham or Crystal Palace, according to reports from Spanish media. Though it seems as though his Barcelona career may not be done just yet.

Weston McKennie 🇮🇹 (24; Little Elm, TX) has been linked to Aston Villa, with manager Unai Emery said to be a fan of the American midfielder. Perhaps due to his tanktop-wearing, ax-wielding workouts. It’s still looking likely that Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Wappingers Falls, NY) will depart Leeds before the start of the new season. Manchester United are reportedly close to signing U.S.-eligible goalkeeper Zion Suzuki 🇯🇵 (20; Little Rock, ARK).

News and Notes:

• Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; O’Fallon, MO) got the opener in Norwich’s 6-1 friendly win over King’s Lynn Town (WATCH)

• In a surreal True Detective partnership we did not know we needed, 69-year-old ex-USMNT head coach Dave Sarachan has joined Robbie Keane’s Maccabi Tel Aviv staff.

• Fresh off a 10-goal season with Liverpool, Katie Stengel 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (31; Melbourne, FL) scored in her loan debut with Gotham FC (WATCH). Sten-goal can’t be stopped on either side of the pond, apparently. 🙌

• Dual national Kris Lund Hansen 🇸🇪 — a 21-year-old left back born in Kerterminde, Denmark to a Danish father and an American mother — had two assists for Häcken in Sweden in their 2-1 win at AIK.

• Lovely sight for US and Fulham fans alike — Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (35; St. Louis, MO) back in training, albeit in a cast. As well as an orange headband. Lovelier Still: Mound City Maldini has joined the Men in Blazers network and will be debuting his own podcast THE AMERICAN DREAM on Thursday. Be sure to download it via your favorite preferred pod platform TOMORROW. 🇺🇸🙌🎧

Parting Shots:

🗣 "Panenka, panenka. The reason why I say that is because I've scored some panenka goals before, and it's the best feeling when you fool the goalkeeper. When he's just laying on the ground, and you just chip it over him? To me, it's the best feeling."

Ricardo Pepi 🇳🇱 speaking to PSV YouTube about whether he’d rather score a penalty via panenka or go top bins, on their great “Dilemmas” video series. Definitely worth a watch either way, as it contains some great football talk with the 20-year-old from El Paso, Texas. But also such a positive to see him smiling throughout his first days with the Dutch club — whether in this video or while rolling with some odd “chicken wrap” moments during his unveiling. To see the joy on the faces of Pepi, Puli and Aaronson upon joining their new clubs — Champions League sides, all of them — should provide American fans with plenty of hope ahead of the upcoming European season.