USMNT players set new record on Champions League duty

The United States Men’s national team players plying their trade in Europe continue to set new standards and this week we saw seven American players feature in matchday five of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in its history. Out of those seven players, four were included in the starting XI for their respective teams.

The US UCL starters

Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Sergiño Dest (FC Barcelona), Gio Reyna (BVB) and Weston McKennie (Juventus) were the four who made the starting line-up for their teams in what was the penultimate round of group games. The biggest surprise of these was Pulisic, who was playing in just his second game after returning from injury, as Chelsea coach Frank Lampard put the faith in him.

Konrad de la Fuente came on in the 80th minute during FC Barcelona’s 3-0 victory over Ferencvaros, while Chris Richards entered the fray on the 62nd minute in Bayern Munich’s draw against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, and Tyler Adams joined proceedings in the 46th minute in RB Leipzig’s 4-3 victory over Istanbul.

This historic milestone comes as more and more USMNT players are making their way in Europe and becoming key players for their respective clubs. The previous record of six in a single UCL matchday was set in the 2004-2005 season.

Berhalter won’t call them up for the last friendly

Towards the end of November it was announced that the US men's national team would have one last friendly before the year end. They will face El Salvador on 9 December in Orlando, but head coach Gregg Berhlater has only called up players that have already ended their participation in the 2020 MLS season.

The European stars will be left to focus on their club responsibilities in what is a busy period of the schedule.