USMNT players take centre stage in Europa League

Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie headline a sizeable group of United States men’s national team players competing in this season’s UEFA Europa League, offering a concentrated view of the American player pool across European clubs.

Pulisic returned from an injury-affected period as a half-time substitute for Milan on Saturday and assisted in the side’s comeback from 2–0 down to draw 2–2. His role in the club’s Europa League campaign remains uncertain, but he is joined at Milan by Yunus Musah, who has started the team’s opening matches under new coach Ruben Amorim.

McKennie enters the competition with Juventus after a career-best season and is expected to remain an important part of the Turin club’s plans. Tyler Adams will also return to European competition, with the midfielder set to play a significant role in Bournemouth’s first European campaign.

At Crystal Palace, established defender Chris Richards is joined by 19-year-old Zavier Gozo, an emerging American prospect who has already made his Premier League debut. Gozo moved from Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake after recording 10 goals and seven assists across a season and a half.

Malik Tillman has begun the season with an assist for Bayer Leverkusen, while Tim Weah wears the captain’s armband at Marseille. Their performances, along with those of Tanner Tessmann, Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers, could affect their standing in an increasingly competitive national-team group.

CBS Sports also identified Americans Taylor Booth, Kevin Paredes and Erik Palmer-Brown in the Conference League. Folarin Balogun, meanwhile, was omitted from Monaco’s squad for that competition and has not played since the World Cup while dealing with an undisclosed injury.