Eindhoven’s returning kids, Tessmann at the double and Gio Reyna’s ‘OK’ day all play a role in tracking this week’s USMNT players.
Every Monday we bring you updates on how American players are performing in European leagues over the weekend.
With a Copa America hosting this year and the 2026 World Cup, also partly on home soil, looming ever larger on the horizon, we’re keeping an eye on their performances.
How to follow the Copa America on Athleticism…
Weekend Question
Peter Bosz has sometimes shown himself to be a flawless disciplinarian this season.
PSV Eindhoven coach sent Malik Tillman home while he was sleeping and arrived late for a meeting on match day. But Bosz is also an inspiration to his players and, as it turns out, so is the young midfielder he is helping to shape.
PSV could have collapsed after a miserable end to March when defeat against NEC Nijmegen ended their remarkable unbeaten record in the Eredivisie. The team had gone 26 league matches unbeaten this season – and 42 combined with the end of last season – before this setback. Dreams of entering the history books during an entire unbeaten campaign went down the drain and, to make matters worse, they had also exited the Champions League after another rare setback at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.
But PSV responded with insistence and their young American midfielder, on loan from Bayern Munich, led this rebound.
Tillman, who is attracting more interest from clubs with each passing week, scored in Saturday’s 6-0 win over Vitesse Arnhem, with PSV now having scored 13 goals in their three games. April so far.
The 21-year-old benefited from an assist from compatriot Sergino Dest, another excellent loanee who crossed for Tillman to score. Dest is another whose form will have earned him options this summer – the likely Dutch champions would like to keep both players – and Bosz was quick to welcome the full-back’s involvement.
“He has a threat going forward, but he also sprints just as fast,” he said. “It’s great that we have him on the team. At the same time, he still has a lot to learn, so I don’t think he has outgrown the Eredivisie.
Like Tillman and his teammate, USMNT star Ricardo Pepi (who missed Saturday’s game due to injury), Dest dreams of a festive end to the season before a big summer for the USMNT. “We have seen an upward trend since the beginning,” he told the PSV website. “I heard how they celebrated it in Eindhoven.
“This could be a season to remember.”
Player of the Weekend
It’s not just in Italy’s top flight that Americans are helping their clubs aim for success.
As Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah play key roles in AC Milan’s quest for Europa League glory and Weston McKennie attempts to help a stuttering Juventus qualify for the Champions League, an American duo attempts to help his team establish themselves in the Serie A season soon.
Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio are a vital part of Venice’s second division midfield. The former’s double secured a victory over Brescia who kept his team in third place on Saturday. Indeed, the friendship of the two men off the field helps Venezia to flourish there.
It could also impact the USMNT’s hopes of winning Olympic gold this summer. The pair, who each have six goals and three assists this season, are both hoping to feature in Marko Mitrovic’s under-23 squad which will take part in the Paris Games in July and August.
The duo are golf enthusiasts, as shown in a light-hearted video from US Soccer about their time on the course.
“It’s fun to play with Busio,” Tessmann said in a recent interview with FIFA. “We have a spark in midfield. Our relationship off the field also helps. We have become close friends and this allows us to communicate better on the pitch.
“We have a lot of talent (in the Under-23s) playing in different parts of the world. It’s very interesting to see them play in their respective championships. We have diversity in the way we play and in our backgrounds, and that really adds to the band. Our coach, Marko, does a great job with us.
“When he puts it all together, I think the team can be very strong. I think we can do something big.
The final U.S. team will be announced this summer ahead of the men’s tournament, where the USMNT will face host France in the opening match.
In Serie B, Venezia will face Lecco, last in the league, on Saturday.
Quote of the weekend
“He played well. He gave us good possession. He had good situations, good passes and good finishes. This is a good option for us and different from what we normally have. He did well.
Nuno Espirito Santo was pleased with Gio Reyna’s first start for Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which saw the 21-year-old provide an assist for Morgan Gibbs-White in their 2-2 home draw against Wolves.
GO FURTHER
What kind of player can Gio Reyna become? It’s time to find out
How did the other American players fare?
Name: Griffin Yow
Club: Westerlo
Position: Right midfielder
Appearances: 23
Goals: 6
Yow, 21, provided an assist, but his impressive performance could not prevent Westerlo from losing 3-2 to Mechelen in Belgium. Fellow American Bryan Reynolds, 22, also featured in the game for Westerlo as a right-back.
Name: Ethan Horvath
Club: City of Cardiff
Position: Goalie
Appearances: 13
Clean sheets: 4
After a clean sheet in his previous outing against Birmingham, Horvath was back down to earth with a bump as Millwall put three points ahead of the USMNT international on Saturday.
Name: Faithful Auston
Club: Defense
Position: Sheffield United
Appearances: 28
Relegation looms ever larger for Trusty, who played the entire match against Sheffield United as they lost 2-0 to Brentford on Saturday. The Blades remain bottom of the Premier League and are destined for a quick return to the Championship.
Name: Jonathan Tomkinson
Club: Bradford City (on loan from Norwich City)
Position: Defense
Appearances: 26
The 22-year-old was booked as a second-half substitute for Bradford, who came from behind to beat Salford City 2-1. The youngster has racked up just under 2,000 minutes of first-team football with the League Two club this season.
Name: Emmanuel Sabbi
Club: Le Havre
Position: Striker
Appearances: 28
Goals: 5
After scoring in his previous outing, Sabbi was booked before being substituted in Le Havre’s 1-0 home defeat to Nantes on Sunday. The defeat left them precariously in 15th place in the table, just two points clear of the bottom three.
What’s coming?
(All times Eastern)
Watch Pulisic and Musah attempt to help Milan overturn a one-goal deficit against Roma in the second leg of their Europa League quarterfinal on Thursday (3 p.m., Paramount+).
In Serie A, Juventus face Cagliari the following day, Friday, as McKennie and Co seek a well-deserved return to winning ways (2:45 p.m., Paramount+).
Lennard Maloney’s Heidenheim faces RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga on Saturday (9:30 a.m., ESPN+) while Kevin Paredes’ Wolfsburg will face Bochum the same day (9:30 a.m., ESPN+).
Also on Saturday, Trusty’s Sheffield United face a critical showdown with compatriots Burnley at the foot of the Premier League (10 a.m., Peacock Premium).
GO FURTHER
‘I’m going to do my best to live it for him’: how a shortened life motivates Noel Buck
(Top photos: Getty Images)