2015 was not a good year for the US national team. After relative success at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Jurgen Klinsmann’s men failed to meet expectations in the Gold Cup, and then proceeded to lose the subsequent Confederations Cup playoff against bitter rival Mexico. But in the early days of 2016, things are looking up for US Soccer. Yesterday, two of our potential stars of the future achieved notable milestones in their club careers.

First, Matt Miazga(on the right in the picture above), a 20 year-old center back from Clifton, NJ who made his debut with the USMNT last year, finalized his long-rumored transfer to English Premier League club Chelsea. The initial fear that popped into the heads of US soccer fans at least for this season, which ends in May, has not come pass as Miazga will not join Chelsea’s infamous “loan army,” where many young promising players have been lost in the shuffle and never made a single appearance for the club. And while that could still eventually be a concern, if he does stay at Stamford Bridge for an extended period of time it will benefit both him personally and the national team. Despite their struggles this season, Chelsea will provide him the opportunity to train with some of the best coaches and players in the world, not to mention a chance to be mentored by John Terry, one of the best defenders of his generation. This apprenticeship could be wildly beneficial for Miazga’s development, as his biggest weakness is reading the game, a skill that is among Terry’s greatest strengths. We have already seen this exact scenario work out before, as fellow young center back Kurt Zouma joined Chelsea last season with a similar skill set, and has improved wildly in just a season and a half.

Less than two hours after Miazga’s signing, 17 year-old attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic(on the left in the picture above), from Hershey, PA, made his senior debut as a substitute for German Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund, the second biggest team in Germany. He is currently seen as one of Dortmund’s top youth prospects, and will likely spend the rest of this season as one of the Black and Yellow’s top depth options in the middle, behind the striker, and on the wings, coming off the bench and possibly starting less important games. As exciting as it is for an American to potentially make this kind of impact at a big club at such a young age, Jurgen Klinsman will have to be wary of the fact that Pulisic is a duel-national, also eligible to play his international career for Croatia. Luckily for the US, Kilinsman has an excellent track record when trying to convince duel nationals to play for the Stars and Stripes. Over the past couple seasons, he has secured the loyalties of the currently out-of-favor Bayern Munich winger Julian Green, highly rated Arsenal youngster Gedion Zelalem, and the aforementioned Miazga, to name a few. On top of that, Pulisic has played his entire youth international career in the American system, which bodes well for our odds.

Although it’s just two players, yesterday’s events are an example of the fact that the level of soccer infrastructure in America is improved and is still improving, and that it is finally starting to translate into tangible results. Neither of these players is a surefire success yet, but they are well on their way.