For decades, American soccer fans have been dreaming of a United States men’s soccer lineup littered with players who ply their trade in the world’s greatest leagues.
That dream is now reality.
On Saturday afternoon, the United States started 11 players from Europe’s five most prominent leagues—the Premier League in England, Ligue 1 in France, Bundesliga in Germany, Serie A in Italy and La Liga in Spain—for the first time against Colombia.
The United States XI Saturday included goalie Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest), defender Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), defender Antonee Robinson (Fulham), midfielder Gio Reyna (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Borussia Dortmund), midfielder Weston McKennie (Juventus), midfielder Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), defender Tim Ream (Fulham), midfielder Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), striker Folarin Balogun (Monaco), midfielder Tim Weah (Juventus) and defender Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach).
All 11 starters for the U.S. in their friendly against Colombia play in Europe’s top five leagues, a first in #USMNT history 👀 pic.twitter.com/HHpKzdP60K
The landmark game is the Americans’ penultimate clash before opening Copa America against Bolivia on June 23.
PATRICK ANDRES
Patrick Andres has been a Staff Writer on the Breaking & Trending News Team at Sports Illustrated since 2022. Before SI, his work appeared in The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword, and Diamond Digest. Patrick has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University.
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