Two major title disappointments this week for our USMNT prospects in Europe as both Christian Pulisic (Dortmund) and Ethan Horvath (Club Brugge) have officially lost out on their domestic title opportunities, despite valiant efforts from the Americans. In fact, both Horvath (with five clean sheets in ten Belgian play-off games) and Christian Pulisic (two goals and one assist in Dortmund’s last three games) showed that they can be relied upon when it matters most.

Of course, even though the vast majority of European seasons are now on summer break, two major USMNT games are still on the horizon:

Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig are set to take on the newly crowned Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich on May 25th in the German DFB Cup Final.

Duane Holmes and Derby County play Aston Villa in an EPL Play-Off Promotion Final on May 27th at Wembley. The winner will clinch the last promotion spot to the Premier League.

Also, given some feedback we have received, we are currently working on a detailed article that explains our reasoning behind our OneGoal 2022 World Cup player selection - so stay tuned!

Lastly, a few thoughts on the upcoming Gold Cup: Berhalter’s preliminary 40 man roster was encouraging to see. Several emerging talents such as Jonathan Amon, Josh Sargent, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Antonee Robinson and Miles Robinson will have a chance to integrate into the senior pool, while some new faces including Tyler Boyd and Duane Holmes could make their USMNT debuts. Not surprisingly, the roster is completed by some MLS veterans, with Berhalter previously citing “consistency” as an important factor when judging call-ups.

As we’ve pointed out before, we believe the USMNT transition will be a gradual one and likely measured by years on our way to the 2022 World Cup. More than anything, we strongly believe the USMNT player pool, including many prospects currently in Poland with the U20s, is as good as it’s ever been. That said, the key will be to harness that talent in a way that builds a robust pipeline of players set to elevate the level of play for the USMNT over the next decade, beginning with the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

With that in mind, the Gold Cup will be an important initial step as it not only marks Berhalter’s first competitive tournament as the head coach, but also provides a global stage for some our brightest talents (Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, Steffen, Miazga) to begin assuming leadership roles within the team.

The revised 23-man camp roster is expected to be announced the first week of June, at which point we will have more detailed commentary. Of course, we’ll be sure to update you on all Gold Cup and U20 World Cup developments along the way.

As always, please feel free to email us at hello@onegoal.us to let us know what you think about our newsletter!

Star of the Week

Tyler Boyd (24, Santa Ynez, CA) - MKE Ankaragücü, Turkish Süper Lig

Who is Tyler Boyd?: The United States added another winger to it’s talent pool as FIFA approved of Tyler Boyd’s one time switch from New Zealand to American association. Boyd spent some of his formative years in Santa Ynez, California before returning to New Zealand. He made his debut at 17 in Australia’s A-League and is currently on loan to Turkish side Ankaragucu from parent club Vitoria de Guimaraes in Portugal.

Fast, tricky and a great shot: Boyd is one of the speediest wingers in the American set up. He has some fancy feet and can often takes on defenders 1v1, finding himself a yard of space and curling in a shot. Boyd can use both feet and typically takes long range “crossing” free kicks for his team. He’s not the best passer, and sometimes he holds onto the ball for too long - a common weakness for wingers. In 13 appearances for Ankaragucu, he has five goals and four assists and had some man of the match performances early this year.