Champions League: five USMNT could feature in Round of 16
The 2020/21 UEFA Champions League is set to resume this week and five players from the United States want to help their teams book a ticket to the next round.
The UEFA Champions League returns on Tuesday 16 February with the first legs of the Round of 16 phase of the tournament. And this could see the participation of a number of United States men’s national team players that are eligible to feature for the first time in the competition's history.
Tyler Adams
The midfielder from RB Leipzig is confident that his team can beat Liverpool FC in the two-legged tie to advance to the next round. Adams scored the winning goal in Leipzig's 2-1 victory over Atlético Madrid last year and he has become a key player for his team with four appearances in the UCL this season.
"You can go into a game like this and anything can happen. Hopefully, we come out of it with two victories and show everyone that RB Leipzig are here to compete with some of the best teams in the world,” he said on Saturday prior to the clash against Liverpool.
Sergiño Dest and Konrad de la Fuente
Dest arrived at FC Barcelona this summer after completing a $24 million transfer from Ajax. He quickly adapted to the team and has already scored a goal in his five appearances in the UEFA Champions League. He has missed the last four matches for the LaLiga side due to an injury, but he is expected to return to the starting XI tomorrow when they host PSG.
Konrad was promoted to the first team this year under head coach Ronald Koeman, but he hasn’t seen the minutes he expected. This year, he has not played any league games, but he has two Champions League appearances already.
Gio Reyna
The 18-year-old is one of Europe’s most promising players and he is having a breakout season with Borussia Dortmund this year. Dortmund will be facing Sevilla on 17 February and Reyna has the opportunity to become the youngest American to score a goal in the tournament. So far the United States international has one assist in six appearances.
Weston McKennie
Juventus will face Porto for the first leg on 17 February and Weston McKennie is expected to be included in the starting XI. He has taken on a key role in the midfield since arriving this summer and he even scored one of the best goals of the group stage against FC Barcelona and has 5 appearances. Unfortunately, he doesn’t arrive at this clash in his best shape, because in his last three games he has played at least an hour.
