USMNT Stock Up, Stock Down: Dynamic Duo Combines for Game-Winner, Richards Falls Flat

Every American player is looking to impress in the new club season.

Almost all of the USMNT players are back in action. | Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images; ANP/Getty Images; Sebastian Frej/Getty Images

As the new European club seasons get underway, players are doing everything they can to prove themselves early, including those Americans that have leaped the pond to play.

Several of Mauricio Pochettino’s men did the Stars and Stripes proud this week, while others failed to meet the mark. With matches against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada coming in September and October, players cannot afford to slide down the Argentine’s pecking order.

Here’s Sports Illustrated’s weekly stock up, stock down analysis for the USMNT players.

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USMNT Stock Up

Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi

Ricardo Pepi (left) and Sergiño Dest (center) played against Excelsior on Saturday. | Photo Prestige/Soccrates/Getty Images

U.S. men’s national team manager Pochettino will be glad to see his players Ricardo Pepi and Sergiño Dest putting all of that World Cup summer training to good use at the club level.

The two American stars, who also play together for PSV Eindhoven of the Dutch Eredivisie, combined for a brilliant game-winner on Saturday against rival Excelsior in their second league match of the 2026–27 campaign.

Dest, 25, made an overlapping run from the right back position and darted up the flank in the 57th minute, before receiving a bouncing ball just inside the box. He chipped it on his first touch to 23-year-old Pepi, who was running into the six-yard box to meet him and likewise needed just one touch to place it past the goalkeeper.

Pepi’s goal came just three minutes after Excelsior had scored an equalizer, dispelling their momentum and allowing PSV Eindhoven to walk away with a 2–1 victory. The team remains undefeated in the new season, drawing Fortuna Sittard 2–2 last week in its opener.

Dest was especially brilliant in the match against Excelsior, completing 55 of his 59 passes—a whopping 93% accuracy across 89 minutes. He also won 11 of his 14 ground duels (79%).

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Brenden Aaronson

Brenden Aaronson has been unstoppable thus far this season. | David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile/Getty Images

There is a fire under Brenden Aaronson that simply refuses to go out. He notched two goals and two assists in four outings since his return from the World Cup, helping Leeds United finish out the preseason undefeated.

He started out with nearly singlehandedly igniting the Whites’ resurgence against Liverpool at the start of the month, helping the team walk away with a four-goal comeback win.

Most recently, though, the attacking midfielder scored the team’s lone goal in Wednesday’s draw with Manchester United, a friendly at Dublin’s Croke Park. He darted to the top of the box to receive a horizontal pass from teammate Daniel James, before taking a wide touch to blow past United’s center back duo. He made simple work of his cannon past goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

Aaronson followed up that performance with an assist in Saturday’s emphatic 4–0 win over Augsburg, Leeds’ final friendly before opening league play against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The American was a key starter and contributor for Leeds last season, but this year, he might achieve a whole new level to his game.

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Auston Trusty

Auston Trusty is an aerial threat that cannot be ignored. | Alan Harvey/SNS Group/Getty Images

Auston Trusty did what Auston Trusty does best.

The 6'2" American defender scored a highlight-worthy header on Saturday, claiming the front post on a corner kick before flicking the in-swinging ball behind him and into side netting. His finish opened the flood gates for Celtic, who added three more to end with a 4–0 victory against Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup round of 16.

Trusty’s ability to direct and command set pieces is one that cannot be ignored and perhaps largely a reason for his place in the USMNT squad. The 28-year-old had a similar moment of brilliance at the World Cup this summer, scoring off a corner kick against Türkiye in the group stage finale just three minutes into the match.

He wasn’t going to waste the USMNT’s first offensive corner of the night, directing traffic and instructing his teammates to pull the Turkish defenders centrally while he manned the back post. It worked brilliantly, leaving Trusty wide open for a left-footed strike.

“I live and breathe for corners,” Trust said after that World Cup match. “I got an opportunity and took advantage of it. It was good to get a goal.”

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USMNT Stock Down

Chris Richards

Chris Richards was not at his best over the weekend. | Sebastian Frej/Getty Images

Chris Richards, typically one of the most reliable players on any pitch, couldn’t find his best form on Saturday, as Crystal Palace fell to Freiburg 3–0 in a club friendly.

Although the 26-year-old continued his stellar passing accuracy (95%) from the World Cup, the USMNT’s defensive stalwart struggled to win balls out of the air—his typical bread and butter. He won just two of his seven aerial duels.

Crystal Palace will need better from him as they head into their season opener against Everton on Saturday.

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