USMNT Injuries: Baby Eagles and Broken Wings

Days Until USMNT Plays Wales: 19

November 02, 2022

AMERICAN STATES UNITED

Days Until USMNT Roster Drop: 7

Days Until USMNT Plays Wales: 19

Good news: The World Cup is less than three weeks away. Bad news: Several of our boys are in a foot race against Father Time to overcome injuries. It’s almost like … hosting a World Cup in the middle of a club football season … wasn’t a good idea.

But first, a quick refresher for those of you who are new to this newsletter, which flies every Wednesday. It is intended to recap all of the previous week’s action from the Baby Eagles abroad, as well as our American Women plying their trade overseas. If you like it, we have just one ask: please share it with your friends and encourage them to subscribe. THEY CAN DO SO HERE.

And now, we newsletter:

Leeds Bound and Down

It’s not quite America winning the World Cup, but it was an underdog victory for the ages. Led by Tyler Adams 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, Brenden Aaronson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, and Racine, Wisconsin’s own Jesse Marsch, Leeds United States of America pulled into one of English Football’s proudest ports and pulled off a heroic 2-1 victory over Liverpool Saturday that may have, at least for the time being, saved Marsch’s job.

Some GREAT AMERICAN highlights from the match included: Adams and Aaronson joining forces like Kenny Powers and Stevie to bum-rush Andy Robertson, and Jesse cranking up the fist-pump cele after his boys hit the shocking match-winner at Anfield. Yes, for 90 minutes on Saturday, our entire footballing nation was Leeds United. 🇺🇸🦅

Leeds isn’t the only EPL side thriving thanks to the efforts of a couple of Americans. With a healthy-again Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 rejoining Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in defense, Fulham has gone undefeated over their last four matches, including Saturday’s scoreless draw with Everton. The Cottagers have climbed all the way up to 7th place in the Premier League table.

Yet it can’t be all corn dogs and Camaros for our Eagles in England. Christian Pulisic 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 got his second-straight start for Chelsea at Brighton Saturday, but he was played at right wing back and seemed to struggle positionally at times in Chelsea’s disappointing 4-1 loss. We’ll see what role Hershey Jesus plays in Chelsea’s UCL match against Dinamo Zagreb Wednesday. 🤞

MIB x Umbro - We could not be more excited to cheer on the Baby Eagles and have partnered with Umbro for an incredible collection launching Thursday. The Double Diamond is the original football brand so this collection means the world to us. Be on the lookout for the full collection dropping Thursday via the Raven.

Wounded Eagles and Broken Wings

When it comes to headline-grabbing injuries for the U.S., you have to start in midfield, where the one and only Weston McKennie 🇮🇹 has suddenly become the biggest concern for the USMNT. Little Elm, Texas’ Finest was taken off at halftime of Juventus’ win over Lecce Saturday with what the club called a right-leg muscular injury. Original reports were that Weston would be out for 15 days. Then on Tuesday, Juve manager Max Allegri provided another update, saying: "McKennie will also be missing (Wednesday against PSG). We don't know whether he just received a blow, or maybe (it) depends on some other muscle strains, so in the next few days (he) will be better assessed." Either way, the uncertainty around this is anything but comforting.

Luca de la Torre 🇪🇸 recently suffered a muscle tear in his left leg that could keep the 24-year-old out of action until Nov. 20. While his club Celta Vigo is confident that LDLT will be healthy for the start of the World Cup, if you combine his injury with McKennie’s, then an erstwhile position of strength is suddenly one of uncertainty.

Up top, Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 missed Norwich’s win over Stoke Saturday due to a calf strain, an injury that has been lingering for a few weeks now. The only positive is that his club manager Dean Smith admitted that the Canaries are being protective of the 22-year-old forward’s workload out of consideration for his World Cup hopes. 💛💚🙏

Goalkeeper Matt Turner 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 missed Arsenal’s Europa League loss to PSV last Thursday due to “groin discomfort” after starting all four previous UEL matches. The injury is not believed to be serious, but Turner wasn’t even on the bench for Arsenal’s win over Nottingham Forest Sunday. 🤔 Crystal Palace center back Chris Richards 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿hasn’t played since Aug. 27, with the 22-year-old reportedly still about a week away from even training with his club.

AMP With Gregg - We are just 7 days away from the USMNT Roster Drop... and just hours after the USMNT passenger list for the World Cup is revealed... we are going to Do It Live! with none other than Gregg Berhalter. That is right, we will speak with the US manager immediately after the list of names is released to talk through his selections, position-by-position, and preview the biggest tournament of his lifetime. And because this is an Amp, you can join and ask your questions. All you have to do is download the Amp app HERE, follow @meninblazers and get ready for the evening of Nov. 9 when we Do It Live!

Trusty the Process

Another match week, another Philly Union alum doing work in Europe. This time it was Media, Pa.’s Auston Trusty 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, who scored an outside-of-the-foot, Zlatan-esque bicycle (yes, it’s as bananas as it sounds … just WATCH HERE) for Birmingham City against QPR Friday.

Like Brenden Aaronson and Mark McKenzie before him, Trusty came up through the Union Academy before being traded to the Colorado Rapids, who eventually sold him to Arsenal. And while the Gunners sent him out on loan to the Blues, the 24-year-old center back has thrived in the Championship, where he’s scored three goals in his last five matches, and was even named to the SkyBet Championship Team of the Week.

After the QPR match, Trusty was asked about his future with the USMNT, and whether he was hopeful of earning a spot on Gregg’s squad for Qatar. “Of course, that’s my mindset,” said Trusty. “Maximize every opportunity and give myself the best chance … I can only control what I can control, (but making it to the World Cup is) a dream of mine."

It remains to be seen whether CBs getting in the goals are part of GGG’s system.

Interview With an American Original: The Watke Q&A

The newest member of the Men in Blazers media network is an American original. A singular voice who proves that Americans can compete at the highest and driest levels of football wit — it’s Chris Russell, a.k.a. Watke. With more Watke content coming during the World Cup, it’s time we learn more about the man behind such iconic hits as “Mean Pulisic” and "I'd have passed to Weston." Below is an excerpt from our Watke Q&A, CLICK HERE to read the full interview.

MiB: Why did you start making USMNT videos?

Watke: When the USMNT didn't qualify for the World Cup, I coped, like many, by spending most of my time making spreadsheets of American soccer prospects. Anyone who has gotten into making these types of spreadsheets will tell you how quickly it can escalate. But since I had a rough idea of how videos were edited — I used to make the training videos that you're forced to watch by your employer — USMNT videos were the more natural step for the escalation to take.

News & Notes

  • Haji Wright 🇹🇷is a GREAT ANGELENO. The Cali striker scored his eighth goal of the season for Antalyaspor Monday.

  • Malik Tillman 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 notched his sixth goal contribution (3G 3A) in all competitions for Rangers, with an impressive assist Saturday against Aberdeen. (WATCH HERE)

  • Cameron Carter-Vickers 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 captained Celtic for the seventh-straight match Sunday against Livingston, with the Hoops earning 16 out of a possible 21 points (5W 1D 1L) over that stretch.

  • Mark McKenzie 🇧🇪 has started Genk’s last 12 matches, over which period the club has gone undefeated (11W 1D 0L), enough to go top of the table in Belgium.

🎙️”Go! Go! USA! with Brendan Hunt: A Passionate Fans’ History of American Men’s Soccer”. Our newest Podcast on the Men in Blazers Media Network sees Rog and Coach Beard chop it up about the rich history of the men’s game here in the United States. From our semi-final appearance in 1930 all the way through to the present. The first two episodes are HERE. It is not to be missed. And if you’ve missed the first four episodes of “World Corrupt,” our collaboration with Tommy Vietor and the GFOPs at Crooked Media about the complexities and moral conundrums brought on by a World Cup in Qatar, START HERE.

Fit But You Know It

While injury concerns took center stage for the U.S. last week, there were some Baby Eagles who made positive strides health-wise. Sunday, Sergino Dest 🇮🇹 returned to action for AC Milan after suffering an injury against Monza on Oct. 22 while Tim Weah 🇫🇷 got his first start of the season for Lille after returning to action on Oct. 9. Saturday, Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 capped off a busy three-match week with a 30-minute substitute appearance in a win at Frankfurt and, after returning to action on Oct. 7, Yunus Musah 🇪🇸 missed Valencia’s loss to Barcelona, but due to yellow-card accumulation, not injury. 🙌

U.S. World Cup Champions Playing in Europe

USWNT legend Heather O’Reilly 🇮🇪 made headlines this past summer when she came out of retirement at age 37 to join Irish club Shelbourne FC in order to make her Champions League debut. While Shelbourne was bumped from the UWCL in August, O’Reilly continued on with the Irish side, who wound up clinching their second-straight Irish Women’s National League title Saturday. An exuberant O’Reilly reveled in the moment and clapped back at the haters, as only the spirited U.S. veteran leader can.

Katie Stengel 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 continues to live up to her Liverpool nickname, as “Sten-GOAL” scored in the Women’s League Cup against Leicester Wednesday, and then scored against Manchester City in the WSL Sunday. The 30-year-old striker from Alabama also found time to shoot this interview with the BBC, in which she discusses the challenges of playing football abroad with different clubs year after year.

And Lindsey Horan 🇫🇷 scored her first Champions League goal of the season via this smooth trap-tap finish against Juventus.

Parting Shots

Liquid Death isn’t the only sparkling U.S. product being sourced in Austria these days, as 21-year-old Ulysses Llanez 🇦🇹 has been loving life of late with second-tier club St. Polten. The Wolfsburg loanee has two goals in his last two matches for the second-place side, including a calm, far-post finish in St. Polten’s win over Austria Wien II Friday. (WATCH HERE)

A product of the L.A. Galaxy youth system, the 21-year-old winger from Lynwood, Calif. has made three appearances for the USMNT, and scored a goal in a 2020 friendly with Costa Rica. And while Llanez won’t make it to Qatar, maybe Uly can be the next Puli by 2026.

🇺🇸 📺 Need help keeping track of all the Americans playing soccer abroad as the USMNT gets ready for World Cup 2022? We’re here to help with our weekly “How to Watch: Americans Abroad” TV/streaming guide. From Pulisic to Pefok, here's how to watch the top U.S. footballers for the week of Nov. 2-8. Full schedule here. 🇺🇸 📺