USMNT midweek roundup: Wynder Benfica debut, Wiley TOTW, Miljevic assist trio

Here’s a bullet-point rundown of the USMNT players whose clubs were in action this week (Monday through Thursday). Players are divided by position groups (that helps my depth-chart-oriented brain to process this information most usefully). Within position groups, players are listed chronologically, in order of when their games took place. Stats are from FotMob.

Strikers

Injured: Ricardo Pepi (knee, out for season), Jordan Morris (hamstring, mid-April)

• Daryl Dike played 25 minutes off the bench and created 1 chance in West Brom’s 1-2 loss to Bristol City on Tuesday.
• Josh Sargent played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Norwich’s 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Tuesday.
• Brian White played 45 minutes off the bench in the Vancouver Whitecaps’ thrilling 2-2 comeback over Pumas on Wednesday. Vancouver was trailing 3-2 on aggregate, but scored in the 93rd minute to win the tie on away goals.

Wingers and attacking mids

Injured: Kevin Paredes (ankle, back on the bench), Brian Gutiérrez (muscle injury, mid-April), Taylor Booth (unknown, a few days), Cole Campbell (knock, a few days)

• Luca Koleosho was an unused sub in Burnley’s 0-0 draw with Derby County on Tuesday.
• Brenden Aaronson played 89 minutes and created 2 chances for Leeds United in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday.
• Alex Zendejas played the full 90 in Club América’s 1-2 loss to Cruz Azul in the first leg (away leg) of a Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal on Tuesday.
• Gio Reyna played 22 minutes off the bench and created 1 chance in Borussia Dortmund’s 0-4 loss to Barcelona in Champions League on Wednesday.
• Haji Wright played 85 minutes in Coventry’s 1-0 win over Portsmouth on Wednesday. Coventry’s winner in the 94th minute pushed them up into playoff position – watch.
• Matko Miljevic played 73 minutes, provided 3 assists, and made 4 other key passes (7 total!) in Huracán’s 5-0 win over Racing in Copa Sudamericana on Wednesday. He was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

The second:

The third:

Center mids

Injured: James Sands (broken leg, mid-July), Niko Tsakiris (muscle injury, mid-April)

• Aidan Morris played 89 minutes in Middlesbrough’s 0-1 loss to Leeds on Tuesday. Morris was 7/7 on long balls and 4/9 on duels.
• Benja Cremaschi played 34 minutes off the bench as Inter Miami won 3-1 over LAFC on Wednesday (advancing 3-2 on aggregate).
• Tanner Tessmann was not in Lyon’s squad for their 2-2 draw with Manchester United on Thursday. He and his wife are expecting a baby this month!
• Johnny Cardoso played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Real Betis’ 2-0 win over Jagiellonia Białystok in Europa League on Thursday. Johnny also had a hockey assist on the opening goal.

Johnny’s hockey assist:

• Leon Flach played 82 minutes and created 1 chance for Jagiellonia Białystok on the losing side of the Betis match on Thursday.

Fullbacks

Injured: Sergiño Dest (muscle injury, late April)

Here’s a comp:

• Nathaniel Brown played 89 minutes in Frankfurt’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham in London on Thursday. Brown completed 3/3 dribbles, won 10/13 duels (9/13 ground, 1/2 aerial), and drew 4 fouls – all were best in the match.

Center-backs

Injured: Chris Richards (leg, mid-April), Walker Zimmerman (concussion protocol, day-to-day), Miles Robinson (leg, late April), Anrie Chase (groin, late April), Jalen Neal (knee, back on the bench), Matt Miazga (knee, back on the bench), John Brooks (ankle, late April)

• 19-year-old Joshua Wynder made his Benfica first-team debut, playing 15 minutes off the bench in a 0-5 win over fourth-tier club Tirsense. It was 4-0 when Wynder subbed in. Analysis from Marcus Chairez.

Goalkeepers

Injured: Gaga Slonina (finger, mid-April)

• Ethan Horvath played the full 90 and made 2 saves in Cardiff’s 2-2 draw with Preston North End on Tuesday. He allowed 2 goals on 1.33 xGOT faced, so an overall -0.67 goals prevented on the day.
• Diego Kochen was an unused sub in FC Barcelona’s 4-0 Champions League win over Dortmund on Tuesday.

What were your takeaways? What changes would you make to the format of these articles? Hit the comments to discuss.