On the eve of Copa América last summer, former U.S. Men’s National Team midfielder Stu Holden came by the show to preview a competition that he would soon crisscross the country covering for FOX Sports.
The tournament did not go well for the USA, and then-head coach Gregg Berhalter lost his job on the back of it. But it was also a great opportunity to take stock of the young Americans plying their trade for some of Europe’s biggest clubs: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Chris Richards and more.
Holden spoke on the biases that American footballers have faced in Europe and his own pride in challenging those perceptions as a Premier League player with Bolton Wanderers a generation ago. But he also threw down a challenge to the high-flyers of the present, and a year later, his takes on many of the Americans abroad look rock-solid.
Pulisic continued to thrive at AC Milan last season, Richards and Robinson went from strength to strength in England, and Reyna — among others — never cleared Holden’s bar to become a key asset for his employer. (In fact, Reyna’s time at Borussia Dortmund appears to be over.) As Holden put it, these guys need to do more than just be at these clubs if the USMNT is to do something major next summer at the 2026 World Cup.
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