US players in the UEFA Champions League last 16
The United States men’s national team will have a total of seven players in the Round of 16 of this year's UEFA Champions League, based on current squads.
The UEFA Champions League draw for the Round of 16 took place this Monday and the players of the United States men’s national team now know who they will face in the next stage of the competition. We have a look at each of them...
Christian Pulisic
Chelsea have arguably been handed the toughest draw, as they will have to beat Atlético Madrid in order to advance to the quarter finals of the Champions League. The Colchoneros are at the top of the LaLiga and for this season they signed Luis Suárez to increase their fire power. Pulisic has been dealing with lots of injuries this year with Chelsea, so hopefully he reaches full fitness for this round.
Weston McKennie
Weston McKennie has been a key player for Juventus’ last three games in all competitions. The 22-year-old scored his first goal with the Old Lady on matchday 10 of Serie A, and three days later he scored again against FC Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. That was followed at the weekend when he assisted Paulo Dybala for the first goal of the game. Juventus will face Porto in the Round of 16 and are heavy favorites to advance.
Zack Steffen
The United States goalkeeper made his debut in the UEFA Champions League in the last match of the group stage when Manchester City defeated Marseille 3-0. Steffen kept his first clean sheet in Europe, but he knows he is only back-up for Ederson with the Citizens. The team from Manchester will face Borussia Monchengladbach in the next round.
Sergiño Dest and Konrad de la Fuente
Dest has been a regular starter at right full-back since the injury to Sergi Roberto earlier in November, and he now has five appearances and one goal with FC Barcelona. On the other hand, Konrad finally made his debut in Europe when he came on as a sub against Dynamo Kiev. FC Barcelona will face PSG in a mouth-watering tie in the Round of 16.
Gio Reyna
The 18-year-old is having a great season with Borussia Dortmund and he has become a key player for the team. In the Champions League he played in all six group games and has provided one assist. Dortmund sacked head coach Lucien Favre this weekend, so the team will have to rely on its young talent to defeat Sevilla in the Round of 16.
Tyler Adams
The American midfielder has one of the toughest match-ups because RB Leipzig has to defeat Liverpool in the Round of 16. The Reds are still one of the top contenders to lift the trophy this season. Adams has four appearances in the group stage and all of them have been from the bench.
Chris Richards
The defender has four appearances in the group stage for Bayern Munich, but in all games he has come on as a sub. FC Bayern Munich are reigning champions and they will want to lift the title once again, but in order to do that they have to start by defeating Lazio in February.