Ups and Downs
USMNT Burner Week Recap/Preview - 4/29/25 - Vol. 5
Starting off this edition by sending our deepest condolences to Charlie Kelman. On Sunday, Kelman was wrongfully left off of the official League One Team of the Season.
In what world does the top scorer of a league, in any sport, not get into that leagues team of the season. That’s like leaving LeBron off of the NBA All Star team or telling Milos Uzan he was not a unanimous All-American.
Joking aside, Drogba said it best:
Dueling for Nats
America is a melting pot and nowhere is that more obvious than the USMNT. The current group of senior players is made up of individuals born in England, Netherlands, and Germany. It also includes players like Johnny Cardoso and Folarin Balogun who were born in the States but spent very short amounts of time living here. Dual-national recruitment has always been a big factor in the roster construction of the USMNT. One of the most important moments in USMNT history came when a Haitian-American by the name Joe Gaetjens, scored the only goal in a 1-0 win over England in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The victory is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
Dual-nationals were and remain a critical piece to the US Soccer puzzle. With Mauricio Pochettino at the helm of the USMNT, he will need to build on the impressive recruits that his predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, was able to draw to the USMNT. However, Pochettino seems to have a slightly different taste for dual-nationals:
"We don't need to convince [players]," Pochettino said. "A player needs to want to play for the for the national team. I am Argentinian. I wanted to play for Argentina ... it's not because of a contract. It's not because the possibility to play in Europe. No, I was desperate to defend my badge, my flag. - SoccerWire
This has sparked an opinion that he is not going to recruit many dual-nationals. We don’t necessarily think that is accurate. We tend to believe he wants players to want to play for USMNT. He does not want to be a second choice in any way. Looking back at the Balogun phase of recruitment in 2023, there were signs that maybe this was the case for him. However, he seems to have bought into the mission of US Soccer.
There are plenty of dual-nationals out there right now but we believe there are two that should be taking precedence. Those are: Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt and Anrie Chase of Stuttgart.
Nathaniel Brown 🇩🇪🇺🇸 - Eintracht Frankfurt 🇩🇪
Over the last few years, there has been one constant within the USMNT, a lack of depth at the left back position. The starting spot is locked down by Antonee (Jedi) Robinson and only a fool would question that. But behind him, there has always been a question mark. Sergino Dest, Joe Scally, Kristoffer Lund, Sam Vines, Tim Ream, and most recently Max Arfsten (war flashbacks) are all players who have been deployed at left back if Jedi was unavailable. All with varying results. But, there is a solution to our woes! Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt has become the sides starting left back this season, even being deployed as a winger at times. Brown has, a team high, seven assists this season to go along with three goals. His 10 goals contributions ranks second on the Frankfurt team, only behind leading goal scorer Hugo Ekitike. Not only is he great going forward, he is outstanding defensively as proven by his FBref stats which compare him to other full backs in the Top 5 leagues, Champions League, and Europa League.
Born in Germany to an American father and a German mother, Brown is very much a product of the German system and has recently represented the Germany U21’s. Brown represented Germany in three U21 Euro’s qualifying matches. This means he is cap-tied to Germany and would need to file a one-time switch with FIFA to be able to represent the USMNT.
Anrie Chase 🇯🇵🇺🇸 - Stuttgart 🇩🇪
As we spoke about a few weeks ago, center back has been a problem position for the USMNT recently. With Tim Ream not getting any younger and Walker Zimmerman not getting any better, it is time for Pochettino to start ushering in the new era of USMNT center backs. The two names that come to mind are Chase and Noahkai Banks. Banks seems to be fully invested in the USMNT but with Chase there are several hurdles. Chase is cap-tied to Japan having represented them at the U20 World Cup in 2023 and would need to, same with Nathaniel Brown, have to file a one-time switch with FIFA in order to represent the Stars and Stripes.
Chase has had somewhat of a breakout season for Stuttgart. When the injury bug hit Stuttgart in the beginning of the campaign, Chase was called upon to fill in. Chase made his Bundesliga debut in the first match of the season, coming on in the 65th minute of a 1-3 loss to Freiburg. He would go on to feature in 11 of the next 14 league games, starting seven of those matches. Chase even made his Champions League debut in a 1-3 loss to Real Madrid, talking about a baptism by fire. He would also go on to make his first Champions League start in a 0-2 loss to Atalanta. However, by the start of 2025, with Stutttgart’s injury crisis resolved, Chase was relegated back to the Stuttgart second team who play in the German third tier. The Japan native, was recently injured and will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines. We will have to wait and see what role he is given next season at Stuttgart.
Curtains Close on the Weekend
In a bit of a slower week as far as total production, a good handful of Yanks abroad produced or continue to produce.
Maurice Malone scored for Austria Wien 🇦🇹 as they ran out 2-1 victors over Sturm Graz.
Omar Sowe opened the scoring in the 10’ for IBV Vestmannaeyjar 🇮🇸 against Fram Reykjavik over the weekend; on Monday, he opened the scoring and added an assist as IBV beat Stjarnan.
Paxten Aaronson recorded the assist on Utrecht’s 🇳🇱 third goal of the game against RKC Waalwijk.
Marc Heider scored a 40’ goal to give Sportfreunde Lotte 🇩🇪 a 2-1 lead over Koln II.
Allegedly eligible forward Chris Ramos scored the opener in the 19’ for Cadiz 🇪🇸 in the Spanish Segunda Liga.
Matthew Healy scored in the 28’ to give Shamrock Rovers 🇮🇪 the lead over Shelbourne.
Goalkeeper Julian Eyestone provided an assist in Brentford B’s 🏴 5-1 win over QPR U21.
John Tolkin assisted Holstein Kiel’s 🇩🇪 opener in the 15’ against Joe Scally’s Borussia Monchengladbach.
Jeremy Kelly doubled Crawley Town’s 🏴 lead over Northampton in the 66’
Samuel Adeniran added LASK’s 🇦🇹 sixth goal of the game in the 83’ against Austria Klagenfurt.
Nathaniel Brown assisted Robin Koch for Frankfurt’s 🇩🇪 fourth goal of the game against RB Leipzig.
Griffin Yow scored a 90’ equalizer for Westerlo 🇧🇪 to make it 2-2 against KV Mechelen.
Christian Pulisic opened the scoring in the 5’ for AC Milan 🇮🇹 against Venezia
Americans Mael Corboz and Isaiah Young scored the first and third goals, respectively, as Arminia Bielefeld 🇩🇪 beat Ingolstadt 3-0.
Alex Staff recorded a goal and a brace of assists for Eintracht Frankfurt’s 🇩🇪 U19 side as they beat RB Leipzig in the U19 Championship Round of 16.
Benji Michel scored in the 89’ for HJK Helsinki 🇫🇮 against VPS.
Xanti Oyharcabal scored two goals for Athletic Club de Bilbao’s Juvenil B 🇪🇸 in league play.
Kyle McLagan scored in the 35’ for Fram Reykjavik 🇮🇸 to make it 2-0 against Afturelding.
Wes Odukwa recorded a 58’ assist for Wolves U18’s 🏴 against Sunderland
Devan Tanton assisted the match winning goal for Fulham’s U21 🏴 side against Nottingham Forest in the PL2 playoffs
Burner’s 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In hockey, they give the ‘three stars’ to the three best players in a game. Rather than break down the entire team of the week, the burner has taken this concept and tweaked it to showcase our opinions on the best 5 players of the match week.
⭐️ Maurice Malone - Austria Wien 🇦🇹
In a game where Malone was regarded as Man of the Match, he was a constant threat off the left wing for Austria Wien. While he usually plays centrally, he scored what would be his tenth league goal of the campaign and narrowly miss out on his eleventh - only to be denied by the post. The 24 year old has gained valuable experience on loan back into the Austrian Bundesliga where he has more than proven himself after fruitful loan stint at Wolfsberger, and will look to break into the soon-to-be 2025 Swiss Super League champion FC Basel’s starting eleven.
⭐️⭐️ Marlon Fossey - Standard Liege 🇧🇪
Fossey and Standard Liege had taken on OH Leuven twice this calendar week, and both performances from Fossey were solid. In the first match, which they ended up losing, he was responsible for two chances created, two successful dribbles (100% success rate), a goal line clearance, 100% tackle success rate and five total duels won. In the second match, which ended in a 1-1 draw, he created two more chances, completed two crosses and three long balls as well as recording seven successful defensive actions. He isn’t necessarily one of the ‘usuals’ for the USMNT off that right back/wing back role, but he is familiar with the group to a certain degree. If injuries persist, we believe that he would be serviceable at the Gold Cup this summer.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cameron Carter-Vickers - Celtic 🏴
Celtic clinched the Scottish Premier League title over the weekend against Dundee United after a holistically dominant performance from Carter-Vickers and the hoops. Carter-Vickers completed the most passes in the match with 109 (93% success rate) and nineteen of which were progressive into the final third, and was responsible for fifteen successful defensive actions (three tackles won at 100% success rate, two interceptions and ten total duels won) to round out the clean sheet.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Ethan Horvath - Cardiff City 🏴
Cardiff went down over the weekend, but Ethan Horvath stood on his head after dropping a somewhat meaningless Man of the Match performance against West Brom. He recorded six total saves and prevented 1.35 total xG to keep the baggies off the board. This exemplified perfectly the volatile state of his hot-and-cold streak in between the sticks considering he ranks in the twenty third percentile for save percentage in the Championship, but will have games like this one sprinkled into the mix. For a goalkeeper who was instrumental to Luton Town’s promotion campaign to end up at the bottom of the same league and performing well below his established standards in this division doesn’t bode well, but we believe he is too good for League One and should look to find a transfer to stay in the Championship (looking at you, Wrexham!).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Paxten Aaroson - FC Utrecht 🇳🇱
Paxten continued his extensive string of strong performances in the Eredivisie during Utrecht’s dominant 4-0 victory over Waalwijk in Eredivisie play. Aaronson added the assist on the third goal of the game which extended the lead to three in the 27’. On top of the assist, he completed three long balls at 100$ success rate, progressed play into the final third five times, won three tackles and won six duels. His impressive form has led to three goal involvements in his last four games to keep Utrecht hot on the heels of Feyenoord as they look to clinch a Champions League spot instead of their current position in an automatic Europa League spot. Utrecht has already looked into extending his stay in the Netherlands beyond this season, but they could be facing strong competition for his services. Paxten, go get yourself some tenders because YOU are our Raising Canes Player of the Week!
Burner Team of the Week
Roll on the Weekend
Real Betis vs Fiorentina
The only USMNT senior player that is left in any of the three European competitions is Johnny Cardoso and his Real Betis squad. Despite finishing 15th in the league phase of the Conference League, where they played teams from Ukraine, Poland, Denmark, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Moldova, and Finland (you just have to love the Conference League), Betis have taken down Gent 🇧🇪, Vitoria de Guimaraes 🇵🇹, and Jagiellonia Bialystok 🇵🇱 in the knockout stages to reach the semi-finals of the competition. This is the first time in the club’s 117 year history that they have made the semi-finals of a European competition.
Johnny Cardoso has played a major role in the success of this Betis team, both domestically and continentally. The New Jersey native has scored four goals and provided one assist in all competitions for Betis this season. Betis currently sit sixth in the La Liga table and look set to at least secure a spot in next year's Europa League. However, there is a chance they can secure a spot in the Champions League if they can overtake Villareal, who sit just one point ahead of Los Verdiblancos.
On Thursday, Betis will host Italian side Fiorentina in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final clash. Fiorentina are in the semi-finals of the Conference League for the third consecutive season. I Viola were the competition’s runners-up in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons, falling to West Ham and Olympiacos respectively. This will undoubtedly be Betis’s toughest test in their Conference League campaign. Fiorentina enter this match unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions as they look to recover from a less than stellar start of the season. Johnny and Betis will come into this game off the back of two stellar performances, and wins, over Girona and Real Valladolid. We expect Johnny to start in midfield where he will be tasked with silencing Fiorentina’s all-action midfielder Yacine Adli and, possibly, red-hot striker Moise Kean (who’s availability for this match is still up in the air).
Game Details:
🆚 Real Betis vs Fiorentina
🏆 UEFA Conference League 🇪🇺
⏰ Thurs, May 1 - 3:00 PM EST
📺 Paramount+
📍 Estadio Benito Villamarin - Sevilla, Spain
Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb
To think, just last year Rokas Pukstas was scoring seven league goals, was a fixture in the Hajduk Split starting eleven, and commanding a $10 million transfer fee. What a time we were living in. That is not to say this season has been a failure but it certainly has not lived up to the expectations we set for ourselves after last year. Pukstas has found his role in the squad decreased by Italian manager Gennaro Gattuso, especially in the latter half of this season. Pukstas has started just five of the club's last 13 games, being an unused substitute four times during that period. By the sounds of it, there were some growing pains between Pukstas and Hajduk during this time.
Like we mentioned, this season has been far from a failure for Rokas. While maybe it has been a road bump in his development, we all know development is not linear. Pukstas went from being one of Split’s most valuable players last season to just a cog in the machine and, honestly, that's ok. Split put a $10 million dollar price tag on Pukstas’s head in the summer of 2024 and, to absolutely no one's surprise, there were no buyers. It was a pretty absurd number for someone who has just finished his first full season of professional football. This season he has already passed the 1,000 minute mark and is still on the radar of clubs across europe.
This weekend we have Pukstas’s Hajduk Split taking on arch rivals Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia’s fiercest derby, the Eternal Derby. This match is not only an incredibly heated affair but for the first time in a long time, neither of these teams occupy the top spot in the Croatian top flight. That is currently being held by Rijeka who are tied with Split on points but hold the advantage on goal difference. Split and Dinamo are separated by just one point with Split sitting second and Dinamo in third. Dinamo are searching for their 8th consecutive league title while Split are trying to win their first league title since 2004-05.
Hajduk Split won the first meeting of these two sides in September in Zagreb, a game in which Pukstas started and played 67 minutes. We are going to go out on a limb and say Pukstas will start for Split as they look to do the double over their rivals and attempt to pip Reijka to the title.
Game Details:
🆚 Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb
🏆 HNL 🇭🇷
⏰ Sat, May 3 - 10:00 AM EST
📺 N/A
📍 Stadion Poljud - Split, Croatia
Lore Moment of the Week
We love it when Americans win trophies overseas, and that is just what Auston Trusty, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic have done over the weekend as they clinched the Scottish Premiership title. Things like this are nothing new to Carter-Vickers as this was his ninth career trophy, but for Auston Trusty it is a huge milestone as it was his first club title!
Trusty started twenty matches in the league this campaign and produced more than solid performances after putting up elite-level ball playing capabilities and impressive defensive action figures when compared to other center backs in the big five leagues, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League over the last season, according to FBref and Opta.
Trusty averages 67.87 pass attempts per 90’ and averages a 94.3% pass completion rate which puts him firmly in the 82nd and 99th percentile, respectively. While he ranks in the 46th percentile for progressive play, this is largely due to the dominance Celtic have displayed in domestic competition and typically rely on Trusty to maintain possession and shift the opposition’s forward line when he has the ball. He also ranks in the 89th percentile for tackles won per 90’ at 2.15 which shows his individual prowess and ability to keep play in Celtic’s favor and be responsible for Celtic gaining 2.5 points per match when Trusty is on the field.
Per FBref and Opta’s advances statistic metrics, he has a similar statistical profile to high performers across Europe such as Lyon’s Moussa Niakhate, Fiorentina’s Pietro Comuzzo, Atletico Madrid’s Jose Gimenez and Robin le Normand, PSG’s Willan Pacho and Fulham’s Issa Diop. Good company.
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.
Kaile Auvray (specifically in his time at Lille), we still think about you. Fun fact about Kaile, he has played for the US U17s, Saint Martin’s senior team and Trinidad & Tobago’s senior team. He also was called into a France U17 camp (but did not appear) once upon a time.
Life Isn’t ALL About the Footy
Some music the Burner has been listening to recently along with some interesting reads:
TV shows the Burner has been indulging in:
Yellowjackets
White Lotus
Suits LA