20230322 American States United

March 22, 2023

“All I'll say, there is open dialogue with him and his team. That dialogue is continuing. That's all I can say.”

—USMNT interim manager Anthony Hudson, on talks that Hudson and U.S. Soccer have had with Folarin Balogun and his representatives on a potential switch to the USMNT from England.

Wishing Flo Was in Florida:

Folarin Balogun 🇫🇷 (21; New York, NY) has had a week.

It started with the 21-year-old striker — who is still deciding whether his international future lies with England, Nigeria, or the U.S. — getting snubbed by Gareth Southgate for England’s upcoming Euro qualifiers. Which led to a cryptic Instagram post from Balogun that U.S. Soccer Twitter naturally interpreted as his way of saying he wanted to play for the USMNT. 🇺🇸🙌

Flo fought through the uncertainty surrounding his international future to score his 17th league goal of the season for Stade Reims on Sunday. (WATCH) Heading into the international break, he’s in a tie for 3rd in the Ligue 1 scoring charts, trailing Kylian Mbappe and Jonathan David, but ahead of players like Messi and Neymar.

Then Tuesday, Balogun dropped out of England’s U-21 camp, despite not being injured. Which, again, has led to completely rational speculation that he’s done with England and is going to commit his international future to the U.S. Although that might have more to do with the fact that he stands a chance of qualifying for our mid-table Olympic table tennis team in addition to soccer. Our ping-pongers are ranked well below England, after all. 🇺🇸⚽️🏓

Dike in NY:

Daryl Dike 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 has also had a week. Not as eventful as Flo’s, but a good one nonetheless.

Wednesday: The 22-year-old striker from Edmond, Okla. is called up by the USMNT for their upcoming CONCACAF Nations League matches with Grenada and El Salvador. Then scores his seventh league goal of the season for West Brom later that day. (WATCH)

Thursday: Drops an excellent Daryl Dike hype tape on Twitter.

Friday: St. Patrick’s Day in NYC. ☘️

Then arrives in Orlando for USMNT camp, hits training, and gets showered with praise by new USMNT commits.

Talk about trending up. Don’t be surprised if Dike bangs a brace against Grenada Friday, followed by a hat trick against El Salvador Monday. 📈

Paxten Now Proper Bundesliga:

Paxten Aaronson 🇩🇪 (19; Medford, NJ) made his Eintracht Frankfurt debut Sunday, subbing on in the 82nd minute of a 2-0 loss at Union Berlin. Despite it being a relatively brief appearance for Brenden’s baby bro, it was still a moment worth celebrating for both U.S. and Frankfurt fans. Eintracht ran something on IG to commemorate the occasion. Paxten also ‘grammed some pics of his debut. And fans cut video of every one of his involvements against Union. An exciting day all around for the Aaronson family. And for the USMNT. Another Baby Eagle officially takes flight in Europe. 🇺🇸🦅

News and Notes:

  • Christian Pulisic 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Hershey, PA) was called in to the Chelsea starting lineup for the first time since January 5 in the Blues’ 2-2 draw with Everton. CP10 has also been linked with a swap move to Napoli for in-form striker Victor Osimhen. Silly season starting early this year.

  • Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Wappingers Falls, NY) and Brenden Aaronson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (22; Medford, NJ) started, and Weston McKennie 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Little Elm, TX) came off the bench in Leeds’ badly needed 4-2 win at Wolves that lifted them from 19th to 14th in the PL table. Wes then went and saw his old buds at Juventus before heading to Florida for U.S. duties, where he’ll be joined by Aaronson. Adams is out of USMNT camp, however, due to an injured hamstring.

  • Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (35; St. Louis, MO) and Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Liverpool, ENG) did not receive red cards Sunday in Fulham’s FA Cup quarter final loss at Manchester United, while two of their teammates, as well as coach Marco Silva, all saw red for various transgressions. 🟥🟥🟥 Which apparently means that Ream is now Speaker of the House? The Senator From Missouri (along with Robinson) then popped over to Orlando for USMNT camp, shared some wisdom on improved domestic vs. foreign-based USMNT player relations, and smoothed over the Gio situation. All in a week’s work for our English ambassador.

  • Matt Turner 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (28; Park Ridge, NJ) didn’t see any playing time this past week. But he did star in this hilarious MLS 101 video ahead of Arsenal’s appearance in this summer’s MLS All-Star Game. BONUS: Matt Turner MiB POD Special rumored to be dropping Friday! 

  • Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 (24; San Diego, CA) loves octopus. Here’s why. El Pulpo also met with fans in Barcelona and had some reflective moments before linking up with the USMNT in Orlando. 🐙

  • Birmingham City is hyped about Auston Trusty’s 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (24; Media, PA) USMNT call-up. So is Trusty. And rightfully so, as a cap against either Granada or El Salvador would be the first of Trusty’s career. 🙌

  • Like Trusty, Taylor Booth 🇳🇱 (21; Eden, UT) is another potential USMNT debutant. A cap for the Utrecht attacker might send his transfer value through the roof.

  • Marlon Fossey 🇧🇪 (24; Los Angeles, CA) doesn’t score goals often. But he knows how to celebrate them when he does. 🤸‍♂️

  • Ulysses Llanez 🇦🇹 (21; Lynwood, CA) scored for the second match in a row for SKN St. Poelten. (WATCH) The Austrian side is now on top of 2. Liga.

  • It was wins all around for American-born managers in Germany. Fabian Hürzeler 🇩🇪 is now an astounding 8-for-8 since taking over at St. Pauli. And Pellegrino Matarazzo 🇩🇪 finally got a win in his sixth match for Hoffenheim, thanks to a 3-1 triumph over Hertha on Saturday.

US World Cup Champions in Europe:

It’s no stretch to say that Lindsey Horan 🇫🇷 (28; Golden, CO) is the top American footballer in Europe right now. A key starter (7G 3A) on France’s top team, she also helped lead Lyon to the French Cup title over Fleury on Friday. And in some style as well, as The Great Horan scored a scissor-kick wonder-strike goal that proved to be the match-winner in the final. (WATCH) Next up for Horan and Lyon: Chelsea and Sam Kerr in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League quarter finals on Wednesday. Believe, Lindsey. 🇺🇸🦅🙌

Fit But You Know It:

Scary moment for Tim Weah 🇫🇷 (23; Rosedale, NY) on Saturday, as he had to be stretchered off late in Lille’s 2-0 win over Toulouse. Thankfully, video surfaced later that day of Weah looking a bit banged up but alright. Weah had to pull out of USMNT camp due to the injury either way, where he was replaced by fit-again Djordje Mihailovic 🇳🇱 (24; Lemont, IL) … After missing Rangers’ last six matches with a hamstring injury, Malik Tillman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (20; Nürnberg, GER) returned to action as a sub Saturday. And promptly proceeded to bang one in just four minutes after subbing on, the Bayern loanee showing himself to be as unstoppable as ever. 💥

Parting Shots:

Bryan Reynolds 🇧🇪 (21; Fort Worth, TX) is another Baby Eagle on the rise in Europe. The Roma loanee had a heat-seeking cross of an assist Saturday in Westerlo’s 2-1 win at Oostende. (WATCH) Then he jetted off to Florida for USMNT camp, where he spoke with Americans Abroad Expert Brian Sciaretta about everything from his career in Belgium to his hopes for the U.S. squad. Probably most telling were his thoughts on his future with his storied parent club in Italy.

🗣 “I know I have the quality to play [for AS Roma] but some things you can't control. You have to get games to get better and to fit into that league. And to play once every five games for 20 minutes. I don't think that’s really going to do me any good. I think the main thing is just me finding a situation where I continue to play and develop.”

Wise words from an impressive young talent. Hopefully current Roma boss, and future USMNT coach, Jose Mourinho is paying attention. 😉

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