Now all eyes point to the first week of the season where the 20 team French League will crown a new champion by May of 2022. Saint-Étienne has won the most titles with 10, while PSG has been the most dominating team of French soccer winning seven of their nine titles in the last decade.

American fans can watch Ligue 1 on beIN Sports and this season they will have another reason to watch the French League with two USMNT players on two of the top teams in France. Here are the two USMNT players who play in Ligue 1.

USMNT players who play in Ligue 1

Tim Weah

Tim Weah has been in Ligue 1 the longest, the speedy American winger started his career with PSG in 2018 where he played 15 games and scored 4 goals. After a stint in Scotland, Weah returned to Ligue 1 with Lille in 2019 where he has been used as a sub more often than not.

Weah has 31 games and 3 goals in league play and has won two titles so far in his French return, a league and French Super Cup. Weah will look to finally break into the Lille starting lineup.

Konrad de la Fuente

Konrad de la Fuente has yet to play a professional league match but did make two Champions League appearances for Barcelona last season. de la Fuente began his career with Barcelona in 2018, he moved to Olympique de Marseille in June of 2021.

Konrad as he is known, started well for his new club scoring a goal in preseason and will look to crack the starting squad this season. At the moment he is in a better situation than he was at Barcelona. de la Fuente has 1 cap for the USMNT.

In a unique case, there are even three American players in one Champions League group. Not only are there American players but also American coaches as Jesse Marsch will coach in his second consecutive Champions League.

A total of tenUSMNT players will suit up for Champions League action this season and one coach will be on the sidelines, we have the list of each American player and their possibilities to play in European soccer’s top cup competition.

USMNT Players in Champions League Squads

Group A

Chris Richards – Bayern Munich

Richards is coming along slowly for the current champions and will look to get meaningful minutes during the year. The fact that he is on the squad can only help his development. His chances of playing are slim at least for now.

Jesse Marsch coaches Red Bull Salzburg

In his second season with the club,Marsch will coach in his second consecutive Champions League. If he can get out of the group, it will be a huge victory for the Austrian side.

Group C

Zack Steffen – Manchester City

Steffen has already played in a few cup games for Man City this season, and while he is not the starter, don’t be surprised if he gets some minutes in the Champions League group stage.

Group D

Alex Méndez – Ajax

Alex Méndezhas only recently been promoted to the Ajax senior side and will be in the mix as a rotation player most likely.Méndez is a USMNT youth international who moved to Ajax in 2019, he played in the youth systems of the L.A. Galaxy in MLS andSC Freiburg of Germany before making a move to the Netherlands.

Group E

Christian Pulisic – Chelsea

Pulisic is no stranger to this stage having played for Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea already. This season many pundits have noted that Pulisic will have a breakout year, he is wearing the number 10 jersey at Chelsea and will be a key player in their title hopes.

Group F

Gio Reyna – BorussiaDortmund

Like Pulisic, Reyna is coming on strong for Borussia Dortmund, this will only add to the experience he has gained, and it could be a coming-out party for Gio Reyna at such a high level.

Ethan Horvath – Club Brugge

Life has been pretty dull for Horvath at Brugge, he lost both his starting spot on the teamandhe has fallen out of favor with the USMNT. His chances of playing are slim unless he regains his starting spot.

Group G

Weston McKennie – Juventus

McKennie as of right now is starting at Juventus and will most likely be rotating in the midfield as the schedule picks up for the Italian champions. No question about it, McKennie will play a role forJuve this season.

Konrad De la fuente – Barcelona

Konrad, as he is going by at Barcelona, is at the moment a squad player and his chances ofplaying are slim, but he might come in if a player gets injured.

Sergiño Dest – Barcelona

Dest recently signed with Barcelona, but it looks like he will be a key player for the team during the season. He will be at the right-backpositionfor the team as Barcelona look to reclaim the Champions League this season.

Group H

Tyler Adams – RB Leipzig

Adams also has experience in the Champions League and scored a goal against Atlético Madrid last season. He will be a central piece for Leipzig again this season.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman opted to give him a chance to debut into the first-team and thus, make history. The playereven went on to score a goal but unfortunately, it was ruled offside.

Konrad de la Fuente was born in Miami andhe was first noticed by the club thanks to the2007 Barca Academy Miami. Eventually, in 2011, he signed for the Blaugrana.

De la Fuente has been a stalwartin Barcelona’s youth ranks, transferring from the U-19to the club’s B squad this summer. However, as a result his impressive debut performance, there is a high-chance thatRonald Koemancouldinclude him in the first-team.

“I dream of becoming the first American to play for the Barca’sfirst team”, he said in July. It seems that dreams really come true!

When you throw in established names like John Brooks, Julian Green, Tim Ream, and Zack Steffen the US team seems to steadily be gaining in players experienced at playing at the highest level. Something many pundits have been calling for, especiallyconsidering the US team did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup and missed one of the nation’s biggest opportunities to grow the sport domestically.

This article will review those US players who have taken the right steps in their careers in Europe. Some players might be at different stages in their careers, mostly young up and coming, but each step in the right direction is a step in the right direction for the United States national team. All of these players will feature at some point in the qualification process so it is important to keep in mind that some players have a whole career ahead of them, while others have what’s coming and need to capitalize on it. What is important to note is that all of these players have hit milestones for Americans in Europe.

Tim Ream

Tim Ream has been abroad for several years now moving from the New York Red Bulls to Bolton Wanderers back in 2012. Since 2015 he has been at Fulham and has spent most of his time there in the Championship, save for one season in the Premier League where Fulham was quickly relegated. Come 2020 Ream helped Fulham earn promotion back to the EPL and at 32 with all his experience Ream will look to play at the highest level and earn a place in the United States team which has been on again off again for him.

Julian Green

Julian Green came out of left field back in 2014. He was at Bayern Munich and made a huge splash in the 2014 World Cup scoring a goal against Belgium in the USA’s 2-1 round of 16 defeat in Brazil. Since then Green’s career took a wrong turn going from future promise to 2. Bundesliga player. Well, it has been at the 2. Bundesliga and at Greuther Fürth Green’s career has had a revival with two very solid seasons where he scored 8 goals in 51 games. His playhas fans of the US calling for him to get another chance with the US national team. Dubbed by many a Klinsmann project Gregg Berhalter has been hesitant to give him another look but his play at the club level may leave the national team coach no choice. Green has proven a very good utility player for the US when called upon.

Chris Richards

Chris Richards made his Bayern Munich debut on June 20, 2020, in a 3–1 victory against Freiburg, becoming the first American to play for the German giants. At 20 Richards will most likely have a difficult time earning playing time in an already stacked Bayern squad but if he can get promising first-team minutes Richards will finally be able to solve the long-lasting question if the US national team can produce a world-class defender. Richards has been in the Bayern youth system since 2018 and coaches are very high on him. He will have to put in the work but getting playing time is key and he ended the season doing just that.

Konrad de la Fuente

Konrad de la Fuente has been on the fan’s radar for quite some time now. It’s hard not to, how often does an American soccer player have the chance to play for Barcelona? While Konrad has yet to make his first-team debut he has been in match squads during the end of the La Liga season as well as being on the Champions League roster, becoming the first American to ever be named on a Barcelona squad. With Barcelona going through a transitional period it might be a good spot for de la Fuente to finally crack some playing time at Barcelona.

Giovanni Reyna

Giovanni Reyna on the other hand is yet another youth project that Borussia Dortmund has undertaken. Gio Reyna has featured in 15 games for Dortmund in his debut season and surprised many with his passing ability and patience on the ball. The son of former US national team star Claudio Reyna, Giovanni has the red, white, and blue tattooed in his blood. Playing meaningful minutes like he did this season and scoring two goals already in preseason will put him in a good sport to truly claim his place in the starting 11 at Dortmund next season.

Weston McKennie

Weston McKennie has established himself as a very solid player for Schalke 04. After four seasons and 75 games and 4 goals, McKennie’s good play has left him at a crossroads. Continue playing for a struggling Schalke side, one in which he was the only player to score for the team consistently for a stretch of games this season, or make a move and get out of his comfort zone. He has various suitors in Germany, England, and France. Like many American’s who make moves, he will need to find the right fit as he will command a hefty transfer for an American player.

Tyler Adams

Tyler Adams became the second American to ever play a Champions League semi-final, the first being DaMarcus Beasley when he was at PSV. Adams’s talent comes with no question he has been one of RB Leipzig’s best players when healthy. That has been the key, he has found himself in and out of the lineup due to minor injuries he has yet to play a full season healthy. Scoring goals in clutch Champions League games will keep him in the conversation. He needs to stay healthy and get a full season under his belt.

Christian Pulisic

Christian Pulisic needs no introduction. He has had a stellar first season at Chelsea. Like Adams, he had some nagging injuries but he hit many milestones while at the club: He became the first American to score in the FA Cup final as well as scoring the most Premier League goals for a 20-year-old in one season. He is also the youngest player at Chelsea to ever score a hat-trick. So despite being benched in the early going of the season Pulisic has proven his worth. It’s safe to assume he will be the centerpiece of the US national team’s hopes come CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying.