USMNT Bundesliga match day 5 recap: Joe Scally stars after international break snub

With the long international break over, club action resumed over the weekend throughout Europe. In the Bundesliga, the USMNT players who participated during the window were eased back into action. Meanwhile, those who didn't feature for Mauricio Pochettino were thrown right into the fire. Let's have a look at how the Americans in the Bundesliga played over the weekend.

Cole Campbell, Elversberg

Campbell picked up a minor injury during the international break, limiting his minutes with the USMNT. That missed time also contributed to him being omitted from the Elversberg starting lineup on Saturday. Campbell did come off the bench for the final 20 minutes, managing to put a long-range shot on goal. But that wasn’t enough, as Elversberg lost 1-0 to Union Berlin.

Joe Scally, Borussia Mönchengladbach

After not being involved with the national team during the international break, Scally scored a goal in the first game following the window. He headed home a goal in the 39th minute to tie the game, although Mönchengladbach ultimately lost 2-1 to Koln. In addition to the goal, Scally had five defensive contributions and was involved in the attack a little more than usual from his right-wing back position. Scally is still on the USMNT radar despite not being invited to the September-October camp, and good performances at club level will help his cause.

Santiago Castañeda, Paderborn

While he’s yet to earn a USMNT call-up, Castañeda continues to be a key cog for a Bundesliga team. Unfortunately, he and Paderborn didn’t have their best performance on Saturday, losing 2-0 to Stuttgart. Castañeda featured in the central midfield as usual and spent most of the game trying to break up play in the midfield. The typically defensive-minded Castañeda took a shot from about 25-30 yards away but didn’t otherwise make an impact in the attack third.

Malik Tillman, Bayer Leverkusen

After logging heavy minutes during the international break, Tillman came off the bench in Leverkusen’s first post-break match. The midfielder entered the game in the 75th minute of a wild 4-3 victory over Mainz. In those limited minutes, Tillman’s heat map was all over the field. He got 18 touches and was perfect on all 11 of his pass attempts.

Mathis Albert, Borussia Dortmund

Albert was on the bench for Borussia Dortmund but didn't play in Friday's 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen. That's been the norm for the American teenager this season, and unless that changes, Albert will have a tough time getting a USMNT call-up in November.