USMNT Overseas: Alex Freeman Earns MVP Honors in Prolific Week for Americans in Europe
It was a prolific week for the stars of the U.S. men’s national team, who play all around the world at the domestic level.
Quite a few Americans found the back of the net in Europe this weekend—and seven worldwide—while others helped their teams secure clean sheets with impressive defensive performances.
With just days remaining until USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino names his squad for the November international window, every player in the pool is adamant to deliver on the pitch and convince the Argentine manager of his merits.
Here are the USMNT stars that stole the show in Europe this weekend.
Joe Scally Jolts Borussia Monchengladbach to Victory
After kicking off the Bundesliga season with six straight defeats, Borussia Mönchengladbach finally got off the mark on Friday with a 3–2 win against VfB Stuttgart. Joe Scally was the star of the show, with the American wingback adeptly flicking teammate Zento Uno’s line-drive into the back of the net for a first-half equalizer.
Gladbach then took the lead after the interval, before doubling their advantage in the 66th minute, where, once again, Scally was at the heart of the action. After intercepting an attempted clearance, the 23-year-old jinked free of Stuttgart goalkeeper Dennis Seimen before dialing in an inch-perfect cross for Wael Mohya to head into an empty net.
Leading Gladbach to their first away win since Dec. 5, Scally will now seek to lead the team past Karlsruhe and into the third round of DFB Pokal. He will also be awaiting a call from Pochettino.
Alex Freeman Fires Villarreal to Finish Line
While Scally is already up to three goals this season, his main competition for the USMNT's right back position, Alex Freeman, scored his first goal since September 2025. Freeman has dominated La Liga this fall and firmly worked his way into Villarreal’s starting lineup. Typically employed at the right back position, he was used in the fairly unnatural left back position on Saturday.
Facing off against rivals Valencia in the Derbi de la Comunitat, Villarreal fell behind early, but equalized in the 69th minute, thanks to Freeman, who cut inside to meet Sergi Cardona’s cross, heading home his first goal in European football.
Freeman held his nerve across a testy match which saw both teams see red. The 22-year-old made six recoveries and won seven ground duels, a versatile performance that earned him MVP of the Match honors.The Yellow Submarine emerged victorious, 2–1, after Georges Mikautadze’s extra-time goal.
Tyler Adams Demolishes European Giants
Bournemouth are beginning to find their footing after a shaky start to the Marco Rose era, and one player who has steadied the ship is Tyler Adams. After winning the midfield battle against fellow USMNT star Yunus Musah last week in the 3–0 Europa League win against Milan, Adams helped Bournemouth demolish yet another European giant by a 3–0 scoreline.
Adams ran circles around Manchester United's midfield of Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos, both figuratively and literally: no player covered more ground than Adams (7.4 miles) at Old Trafford. He also made 13 defensive contributions and nine line-breaking passes for Bournemouth, who have now won four on the bounce, scoring 11 and conceding zero in that span.
Timothy Weah Proves Unstoppable
Another American impressing as of late is Timothy Weah. After a disappointing World Cup, followed by a poor start to the season which saw him lose seven of his first eight matches and get sent off in a September match against Paris Saint-Germain, it seemed that Weah might be on his way out of Olympique de Marseille.
Instead, the team’s captain has responded brilliantly, taking his game up a notch in recent weeks, bagging two assists in a 5–2 win against Angers on Oct. 18. Against Le Havre on Sunday, Weah slalomed past three opponents and side-footed the second goal in an ultimate 4–3 victory. He’ll be hoping his recent form brings his back into Pochettino’s good graces.
