At the risk of overusing a cliché, it’s truly incredible how much a difference one whole year can make in the life of a professional footballer.
Try to imagine the look you would get if you hopped in a time machine to 12 months ago and told USMNT fans that the last three remaining USA internationals in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League — at least, those assured of regular playing time — would be Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman, and Sergino Dest.
Last winter, Pepi was fresh off a brutal stint in the Bundesliga and just starting to find the goals again for an Eredivisie relegation candidate, while Dest could barely see the field at the San Siro in an ill-fated loan spell at AC Milan that saw manager Stefano Pioli claim after that the player didn’t fit his system. Tillman, on loan at Scottish club Rangers in 2022/23, saw his team fall in the Champions League qualifying rounds and was barely involved at senior international level.
Fast forward to now, and those three are the most prominent of the remaining participants carrying the banner for the Stars & Stripes in the world’s most renowned continental club tournament — and all at the same club. A fourth, Richy Ledezma, last played for the USMNT over three years ago and has not featured for PSV at all since returning from a loan at New York City FC late last year. The other American in the Round of 16 is Barcelona goalkeeper Diego Kochen, who has never played a senior game and doesn’t turn 18 until March.
MORE: The top goalscorers in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League
“I think it’s too early to say whether it’s a blip or a concern, because we all have these moments in our careers where things are not going the right way and the way we expect,” CBS Sports Champions League analyst Micah Richards told The Sporting News previewing the 2024 UCL knockout stage. “But I expect so much more from the American players, because I feel they’ve got the talent, but it’s just about them showing it on a consistent basis.”
Sergiño Dest scores his first goal for PSV, assisted by his fellow #USMNT teammate Malik Tillman. 🇺🇸🙌 pic.twitter.com/WAlJYYITK3
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) December 17, 2023
For Pepi and Dest, it’s undoubtedly a badge of honor to be where they are, a mark of true resilience. Dest in particular had spent years as Xavi’s punching bag at Barcelona before he failed to make headway in Italy. His red card against Trinidad & Tobago for the U.S. national team last fall dug him an even deeper hole, which he now has the chance to put entirely in the past.
Pepi, meanwhile, leads the Eredivisie in goals per minute despite being stuck behind Dutch top flight Golden Boot candidate Luuk de Jong, making the most of his precious few opportunities. Tillman also came through a difficult first month on loan in the Netherlands to become a firmly established first-team player, ensuring he was back in the USMNT picture for November’s CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal tie with Trinidad & Tobago.
“We can go back in history to a lot of players who made mistakes — you just move on,” CBS Sports Champions League analyst Thierry Henry told The Sporting News. “Now, he [Dest] needs to concentrate on [PSV] Eindhoven and see what he can do.
“He’s been always a player that people thought he could do something. When you look at his CV, it’s not bad, and then it’s true that since he’s arrived at Eindhoven, the year they’re having, it’s just amazing the way he’s playing, assists — he doesn’t have to show anyone anything that way, just confirm that he’s a good player and playing in Europe. That’s always the debate: ‘can he play in Europe?’ Well, can he play football?”
Yet from a wider perspective, American supporters may be frustrated not to see more established international stars in Europe’s most coveted competition. Meanwhile, names like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Matt Turner, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun, and Tim Weah are all cast adrift.
“We had a show in Miami and one of the questions was, ‘do you feel like the Americans are disrespected?’,” Richards explained. “Me as an Englishman and Thierry as a Frenchman — we don’t. They’ve just got to show it, you know? If they can show what they can do on a consistent basis, we wouldn’t even have to question it. That is the most important thing for them now: to do it consistently.”
Henry agrees, and believes U.S. fans need to adjust their expectations a bit in a few key areas. “Let’s stop complaining, ‘we are Americans, it’s tough for us’. It’s tough for everybody. Just come play and perform. And you don’t have a lot of Americans playing in Europe, so when you look at who made it [to the knockout stage] compared to who entered, it is still successful.”
If you dive further into each individual situation for those who fell short, it’s not terribly alarming. Pulisic isn’t lighting it up at AC Milan, but he is a consistent starter opposite superstar Rafael Leao and has contributed some key goals. McKennie is having a revival season at Juventus, who are banned from Europe in 2023/24 but are firmly in the Serie A title chase. Balogun had to leave Arsenal for consistent minutes and has helped AS Monaco into a fight for potentially second place in Ligue 1.
Still, the fact that no USA internationals have established themselves at regular Champions League clubs is worrying. Just a few years ago, Pulisic was a starter as Chelsea ran to the UCL title, while Balogun, Gio Reyna, Chris Richards, and Turner all played for top-tier European clubs looking to work their way into the lineup. Fast forward to today, and those players have had to find new homes in search of consistent playing time.
“Someone like Gio Reyna, from our point of view, we thought he was going to be the biggest star, and for whatever reason that’s not transpired, which is difficult,” Richards said. “Obviously, the better you do in Europe, especially in the top teams in Europe, is going to help with the national team, just for the confidence and the recognition as well.”
Pepi and Dest in particular are prime examples that a moment in time cannot provide the proper context for how a player’s career — and, by proxy, a national team’s player pool — is trending.
“It’s difficult to really say after just one season,” Richards said. “So if you ask me this question next season, and the same thing arises… but we’ve all been in our careers where things have not gone the way we want them to go.”
Yet moments in time are all we have, and at this very moment, it feels the U.S. national team’s top talent may be experiencing a harder landing than originally anticipated for a group of players touted as the most talented in USMNT history.
