On We March

USMNT Burner Week Recap/Preview - 7/1/25 - Vol. 13

Jul 01, 2025

Wish we were Brenny…

Dual-Nat Derby

On Wednesday, the USMNT will face Guatemala in the Semi-Finals of the Gold Cup. The USMNT defeated Costa Rica in penalties in the quarterfinals while Guatemala upset Canada, also in penalties, in their quarterfinal matchup. This will be Guatemala’s first semi-finals appearance in the Gold Cup since 1996, where they were beaten by Mexico and then by the USA in the third place game.

This will be the first meeting of the two teams since the US beat Guatemala 4-0 in the World Cup Qualifiers in 2016. USMNT star Christian Pulisic made his senior debut in this match, entering the fray as an 81st minute substitute.

One fun storyline to watch out for in this match up is the amount of dual-nationals on this Guatemala team. Goalkeeper Nicholas Hagan, defender Nicolás Samayoa, midfielder Matt Evans, attacker Damian Rivera, attacker Arquímides Ordóñez, attacker Olger Escobar, defender Aaron Herrera, and attacker Rubio Rubin are all dual-nationals with strong ties to the USA. In the case of Aaron Herrera and Rubio Rubin, they have both made appearances for the USMNT. Herrera got his only USMNT cap in a 7-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago in February, 2021. Long time USMNT fans will remember Rubio Rubin, who was once touted as a great hope for American soccer. Rubin’s final of his seven caps for the USMNT came in a 1-2 loss to Ireland in June of 2018. Rubin is now plying his trade for USL Championship side Charleston Battery after a career bouncing from the Netherlands to Denmark to Norway to Mexico to the USA.

On paper, this should be a game where the USMNT will win in convincing fashion. However, apart from the Trinidad game, we have yet to see the USMNT have a convincing performance at this Gold Cup. The team has squeaked out wins over Saudi Arabia, Haiti and Costa Rica to even get to this point. It is likely that Guatemala will put 10 men behind the ball and try to hit on the counter. We all know breaking down a low block is the ultimate USMNT weakness. This game will be screaming out for Malik Tillman and Diego Luna to unlock the Guatemalan defense with creativity and combination. Guatemala have nothing to lose and everything to gain. They will be ready to go for this match up and will look to become the only team not named USA, Mexico, Jamaica, or Panama to make the Gold Cup Final since 2003.

Curtains Close on the Weekend and Done Deals

USL veteran Shaft Brewer has signed with Valletta FC of the Maltese 🇲🇹 first division.
Johnny has signed and sealed his €30 million move to Atletico Madrid 🇪🇸 form Real Betis. He has signed a 5 year contract.
Jeremy Kelly has officially left Crawley Town 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and joined USL Championship side Charleston Battery.
Royal Antwerp 🇧🇪 announced the signing of Japanese-American dual nat Taishi Brandon Nozawa from FC Tokyo 🇯🇵.
Bryang Kayo has signed for OH Leuven 🇧🇪 from VfL Osnabruck 🇩🇪.
Liverpool’s Academy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿has confirmed that Keehan Barrett-Underwood has completed a permanent move to Sheffield United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿following a successful trial period despite being offered a scholarship by Liverpool.
Constantine Edlund recorded a pair of assists in the 43’ and 49’ for FC KTP 🇫🇮against FF Jaro.
Justin Rennicks scored a second half brace to push AC Oulu 🇫🇮to a 2-1 win over VPS.
Nils Froling has signed with Dynamo Dresden 🇩🇪after the expiry of his contract at Hansa Rostock 🇩🇪.
Pierre da Silva scored Cusco FC’s 🇵🇪third goal of the game against Alianza Universidad.
Malik Tillman to Bayer Leverkusen 🇩🇪for between 35-40 million Euros, HERE WE GO.

The Rumor Mill

Gio Reyna’s new agency ROOF has offered him up to the Dutch big 3 (Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord) 🇳🇱.
Derby County 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 are closing in on deal to sign 24 year old striker Patrick Agyemang from Charlotte FC. (🗞 Fabrizio Romano)
Plymouth Argyle 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 have had an offer for Charlie Kelman rejected with QPR 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 looking to keep hold of the striker amid interest from fellow Championship clubs Bristol, Sheffield United and West Brom.
Anrie Chase is expected to join RB Salzburg 🇦🇹.
Tim Weah has REJECTED a move to Nottingham Forest 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 . Everton, Bournemouth & Leeds are now understood to be interested in signing the winger.
KRC Genk 🇧🇪 is making inquiries about Zavier Gozo.
Fiorentina 🇮🇹 are interested in signing forward Josh Sargent. Stefano Pioli is said to be a keen admirer of Sargent’s.
Wolves 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 are reportedly interested in signing Yunus Musah and are set to rival Nottingham Forest for his signature.
Taiga Hata looks set to join STVV St. Truiden 🇧🇪 from Shonan Bellmare 🇯🇵.
Portsmouth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 are looking to sign Griffin Yow from Westerlo 🇧🇪. (🗞 Tom Bogert)

Lore Moment of the Week

This week, burner staff was lucky enough to catch up with Spanish-American dual nat and friend-of-the-burner Guillermo Ruiz of CD Leganes! Here’s how the conversation went:

Burner: You are one of a few Americans to have been on the books at Real Madrid - can you tell us about your time there?

Ruiz: As an American it was a huge sense of pride to feel like I was representing my country at such a big club. I think everything was extremely intense and fast paced, and I enjoyed every moment of it, even when I was playing less or not feeling valued correctly, it was an honor to have been part of the biggest club in the world. I’m also extremely grateful to the friends I made and people I met during my time there. It was a huge help in adjusting to a new country, which I didn’t expect from the players and especially coaches.

Burner: You’ve now since moved to Leganes, can you give us some insight on how that came about?

Ruiz: The head coach for the Leganes B side actually ran into me at a super market, and we talked and hit it off, and 2 months later reached out via DM offering me to play for him. I loved the idea and worked on it straight away with my agent.

Burner: From the outside looking in, you seem to have had a good spell in Leganes, even making the bench for a La Liga match - how has this move impacted your game?

Ruiz: Having been with the first team only adds confidence and reassures me that I believe I’m good enough to play first division soccer, anywhere. I see how I train with these players and how I keep up, so there’s no doubt in my mind someday, when I’ve taken the right steps and proven my worth, I’ll be playing alongside or against the players I sat with and watched those 2 games I was with the first team.

Burner: What goals have you set out for the next season?

Ruiz: My goals are to really settle into my team and dominate my own skill set, really hone in on my strengths and use them, as well as fix my mistakes and keep growing. I think there’s always new information to be absorbed and new tactical/technical details arising, and I want to be master of all.

Burner: Have you seen your play style or technique evolve or change the last couple of years?

Ruiz: Of course! Ever since I left the US I think I’ve become way more tactically aware, and I’ve finally put my feet to use. I have always been an accurate goalkeeper in terms of distribution, so understanding the tactical piece of the game has made it easier for me to play the correct pass in most scenarios. As for shot stopping and crosses or defending the space, like I said earlier, each coach asks for different things and different play styles, so I think I’ve learnt a lot of new ideas. Whichever coach is in charge of me, I feel comfortable to adapt to whatever they ask of me. This also adds onto my confidence of being able to step into whatever role on a squad sheet and bring my A game, no matter what the team needs.

Burner: How do you bounce back after a difficult training session or match?

Ruiz: I think it’s all about mindset and remembering it’s still a game. I’ve had moments where I’ve felt pressure, expectation, disappointment, all just because I’m extremely competitive and hold myself to the highest standard. And sometimes I can mess up, and that’s fine. As long as I bounce back and remember “it’s just a game, have fun and the game will come to you,” I always feel like there’s nothing I can’t recover from. I’ve had my fair share of bad mistakes, even when I played in the US, but unwavering self-belief and drive got me to where I’m at, so why stop that mentality now.

Burner: Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?

Ruiz: I listen to music until I enter the locker room, and my warm up is always pretty much the same, whatever the coach decides is his warm up, but whenever I step on the field I jump, look over the crossbar, and touch the crossbar until the ref blows the whistle. Don’t know why I do it, but I’ve been doing it for four years.

Burner: What do you like to do outside of football to unwind?

Ruiz: I think hobbies are super important in soccer because most players live alone, or only play soccer in their lives. Overthinking and anxious thoughts and stress can very easily creep in when you have too much time to think, so I think stimulating your brain and keeping yourself busy and learning is very important. My personal hobbies are guitar, chess, piano, and anime during the season. During the summer I like to disconnect and not play much soccer, so I play a lot of tennis, pickleball and beach volleyball to stay in shape, and keep my reflexes and lateral movement up to par. Also just going to a coffee shop and relaxing is a huge part of my day to day routine.

Massive thank you to Guillermo for taking the time to answer some of our questions! If you want to keep up with Guillermo, give him a follow on Instagram!

Guillermo has been a friend of the burner for a while and is now cemented in our lore! So subscribe NOW so you can be the first to hear from these American Abroad prospects or leave a comment with any kind of questions you want us to ask or who we should ask them to.

Red Lights, Stop Signs, I Still See Your Face in the White Cars

One canon event in every man’s life is sitting around a table drunkenly naming random sports players. Trying to one up your friends as you take turn yelling random player names. This is a burner favorite but we often do this with forgotten USYNT players.