"Only one in a European set up" - ESPN reporter Herculez Gomez lauds BVB's American teen
Borussia Dortmund star Mathis Albert has been all the rage this international window. At first, he made his senior debut with the USMNT and then last week, scripted the record for the youngest ever goalscorer in their history with a strike against Chile.
However, much to his dismay, that record was taken away from him just four days later when Cavan Sullivan narrowly edged him out to become the newest holder of the record at 17 years and five days as the Philadelphia Union forward opened his account against Mexico on Saturday.
Gomez hails Albert
ESPN spanish reporter Herculez Gomez was on the Duel Nats podcast recently, where he reminded everyone that although Sullivan is the name on everyone's lips right now, it's Albert who's playing with a Champions League team in Europe.
The talk was Cavan Sullivan. But there's only one teenager who's showing up to Champions League rosters, it's Mathis Albert.
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Dortmund signed him from LA Galaxy in 2024 when he was just 15 years of age as Albert soon progressed into their youth side. Earlier this year, the attacker made history by becoming the youngest American debutant in the Bundesliga after coming off the bench against Freiburg in April at just 16 years and 11 months. He later bagged his second appearance with the BVB in the DFB-Pokal clash with HEBC on 1 September.
Albert was also called up to their opening Champions League game of the season against Villarreal a few days later, but the teen remained on the bench the whole time. As the player continues to grow in stature, Gomez further added:
There's only one teenager who's in a European setup right now; has been there for quite some time making a name for himself, that's Mathis Albert.
The USMNT squad that Pochettino selected for the current international window has 13 players plying their trade in European shores, but Albert is the only one of them who is below 20 years of age.
He won a penalty for his side just minutes into his international debut against Peru on 26 September, before netting his first goal in a 4-2 defeat of Chile a few days later.
In order to manage his playing time, Pochettino subbed him on for just the last two minutes of normal time against Mexico Saturday, but remains in contention for more against Canada on Tuesday.
Gomez also said that while he's still a relatively unknown name in the American football circuit, Albert is well-known in other quarters.
He puts himself in great positions and he's the one guy that for many outside the Major League Soccer circles, they didn't know. But he's the one guy that the rest of the world knows about. I don't think it's a secret that he made his name known for Mauricio Pochettino.
