USMNT midweek roundup: Mathis Albert debut

HAMBURG, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 1: Mathis Albert of Borussia Dortmund in action during the DFB Cup 2026/27 soccer match between HEBC Hamburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volksparkstadion on September 1, 2026 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Hendrik Deckers/Borussia Dortmund via Getty Images) Here’s a bullet-

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What is the story about?

Here’s a bullet-point rundown of USA players whose clubs were in action this week (Monday through Thursday). Players are divided by position groups (which helps my depth-chart-oriented brain to process this information most usefully). Stats are from FotMob.

Striker

We got a comp of Justin Ellis’s performance for Orlando City against Minnesota United last Saturday:

Patrick Agyemang is still with an Achilles tendon injury, missing Derby County’s 2-0 win over Portsmouth in the EFL Championship on Tuesday.
Zane Okoro (19) scored for Tranmere Rovers in their 2-2 draw with Rotherham in League Two on Tuesday.

Winger/attacking mid

We got a comp of Cole Campbell’s performance for Elversberg in their win over Leverkusen last weekend:

We got a comp of Cavan Sullivan’s performance against the Red Bulls over the weekend:

We got a comp of Gio Reyna’s performance for Strasbourg against Lens over the weekend:

Mathis Albert (17) made his first competitive start for Dortmund in their 5-0 win over fifth-division HEBC Hamburg in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday. Albert played the full 90, created 3 chances, completed 3/6 dribbles (game-high), and won 5/9 duels.

Another comp:

Rokas Pukštas (22) was an unused sub for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 draw with Burnley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday.
Alex Zendejas is out with a knee injury, missing América’s 2-2 (4-5) penalty shootout loss to Monterrey in the Leagues Cup semifinal on Wednesday.

Center mid

Benja Cremaschi (21) was an unused sub for Parma in their 0-2 loss to Cremonese in the Coppa Italia round of 32 on Tuesday.
Gianluca Busio (24) was an unused sub for Venezia in their 1-2 loss to Udinese in the Coppa Italia round of 32 on Wednesday.
Aidan Morris (24) played the full 90, had the most touches (108), scored a goal, created 1 chance, hit the woodwork, completed 1/1 dribble, 1/4 long balls, made 3 tackles, drew 3 fouls, and won 7/9 duels in Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw with Burnley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday. Morris was rated Man of the Match by FotMob.

Another look:

Morris’s shot that hit the woodwork:

Sebastian Berhalter (25) played the full 90, assisted Morris’s goal, created 2 chances, completed 3/6 long balls, made 4 tackles, and won 6/8 duels in Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw with Burnley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday.

Fullback

George Bello (24) played 45 minutes off the bench in LASK Linz’s 3-1 win over Wolfsberger AC in the Austrian Bundesliga on Tuesday.
Caleb Wiley (21) played 66 minutes, scored a goal, created 2 chances, missed 1 big chance, and hit the woodwork in Preston North End’s 1-3 loss to Bristol City in the EFL Championship on Tuesday.

Christian McFarlane (19) played the full 90 and created 1 chance in Leicester’s 2-0 win over Plymouth Argyle in League One on Tuesday.
Kristoffer Lund (24) was an unused sub for Birmingham City in their 1-1 draw with Southampton in the EFL Championship on Tuesday.
Luca Bombino (20) made his Stoke City debut on Tuesday, playing the second half of Stoke’s 1-0 win over Norwich in the EFL Championship. That same day, Stoke announced the signing of American midfielder Jack McGlynn.

Max Arfsten (25) was an unused sub for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 draw with Burnley in the EFL Championship on Wednesday.

Center-back

We got a comp of Neil Pierre’s performance for the Philadelphia Union against the Red Bulls at the weekend:

Cameron Carter-Vickers (28) played the full 90, made 2 passes into the final third, completed 2/2 long balls, made 1 block, 2 clearances, and won 8/10 duels in Celtic’s 3-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday.
Auston Trusty (28) played the full 90, completed the most passes (91), made 10 passes into the final third, completed 1/3 long balls, made 1 tackle, 1 block, 7 clearances, and won 4/7 duels in Celtic’s 3-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday. CCV and Trusty will be joined at Celtic by Chelsea loanee Landon Emenalo (18) for the rest of the season.
George Campbell (25) played the full 90, created 1 chance, made 12 passes into the final third, made 1 tackle, 1 block, 2 clearances, 1 interception, and won 3/4 duels in West Brom’s 1-1 draw with Charlton Athletic in the EFL Championship on Wednesday.
Mark McKenzie (27) played the full 90, created 1 chance, completed 10 passes into the final third, 3/6 long balls, made 4 clearances, 2 interceptions, and won 2/4 duels in Toulouse’s 0-1 loss to Lille in Ligue 1 on Thursday.