and Mauricio Pochettino Roughly three weeks after selecting the U.S. roster for training camp and friendlies in March, a slew of good news about two players came within hours of each other on Saturday:
midfield Tyler Adams Playing for the first time in more than two months, the striker Riccardo Pepi Wearing uniforms for the first time in six weeks.
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Adams, who returned from a sprained knee ligament earlier than expected, started in Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw with West Ham United, while Pepi was in uniform after recovering from a fractured forearm and scored a fine second-half substitute goal in PSV’s 3-1 win over Heerenveen.
Both will return to the national team next month – Adams is a certainty, Pepi is also a possibility – and almost all of Pochettino’s players are currently available for selection.
the only midfielder Gio Reina (muscle problems) and wingers Alex Zendejas (Adductor) has been gone for weeks.
Adams, the 2022 World Cup captain, missed 10 games before coming on at Everton on February 10 – eight weeks out instead of the long three months that had been feared. He played 66 minutes on Saturday and completed 41 of 45 passes, the second-most of any player from either team, as eighth-placed Bournemouth extended their unbeaten Premier League run to seven games.
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Pepi, whose left forearm was well protected, came on in the 76th minute and, after video replays negated his apparent goal, fired a 25-yard shot in the 87th minute to extend his scoring streak in the Eredivisie to six games. In just 22 games, he increased his league tally to nine and total appearances to 12.
The timing is ideal for the 23-year-old Texan, who fell injured against Coventry City Haji Wright and derbyshire Patrick Agyeman The No. 1 forward on the U.S. depth chart Folarin Balogun (Monaco).
“It feels great to be back!” Pepi posted the news on social media. “Thank you to all the PSV players for your enthusiastic support of my return.”
Pochettino plans to finalize his squad for next month’s training camp on March 17 ahead of Atalanta’s friendlies against Belgium on March 28 and Portugal on March 31, his final match before the World Cup. He has until May 11 to submit a provisional roster of 35 to 55 players to FIFA before announcing a 26-man roster around May 26.
Monaco player Folarin Balogun controls the ball during the first leg of the UEFA Champions League knockout play-off match between Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II in the Principality of Monaco on February 17, 2026.
(Valery Hatch via Getty Images)
France
It’s been an extraordinary week for Balogun, who scored twice against reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday, with a second-half strike sparking a three-goal uprising by Monaco to beat Ligue 1 leaders Lens 3-2.
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He increased his total number of goals to 11: 5 in Ligue 1, 5 in the Champions League, and 1 in the Coupe de France.
midfield Tanner Tesman (58 minutes) Third-placed Lyon lost 1-3 to Strasbourg, ending their 13-game winning streak in all competitions.
right back Tim Weah From an analytical perspective, he was the best player in Marseille’s 0-2 loss to Brest, which extended Marseille’s overall decline to 1-3-2 in next Sunday’s crucial home game against Lyon.
Toulouse centre-back Mark McKenzie He received a yellow card and was suspended and missed the 1-1 draw with Paris FC.
England
center back chris richards Helped Crystal Palace suffer a second shutout in three Premier League games with a 1-0 victory over bottom-placed Wolves, who trailed for around half an hour before conceding a goal.
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left back Anthony Robinson He missed Fulham’s 3-1 win over Sunderland without an official explanation, marking his third consecutive league absence. He played 90 games in the FA Cup last weekend.
midfield Brenden Aronson (73rd minute) Leeds United drew 1-1 with Aston Villa in the Premier League and achieved three consecutive away wins in the Premier League.
Wright and Agyeman were quiet after a productive campaign in the England Championship last week. Wright played 71 minutes in the 2-0 win over West Brom, while Agyeman played 90 minutes in the 2-0 loss to Watford.
midfield Aidan Morris Middlesbrough’s 0-0 draw with second-last Oxford saw Middlesbrough sit three points behind first-placed Coventry on 75 points, but six points clear in the race for promotion to the Premier League for the second time.
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Italy
Christian PulisicHe, who has been battling bursitis, returned to the AC Milan lineup after three substitute appearances, and he was outstanding in 62 minutes and had two high-quality goal chances in the 0-1 home defeat to Parma, which was the first Serie A defeat since the August opener and 23 consecutive games.
midfield Weston McEnanyA standout performer for Juventus this winter, he played all of the 2-0 defeat at Como, a result that left the Turin club without a win in five games at home to Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday. (Juventus lost 5-2 in last week’s opener.)
midfield Yunus Musa He was on the bench for the seventh time in nine games in Atalanta’s 2-1 win over Napoli. He played 14 of 26 Serie A games, starting only 3 games, and played a total of 447 minutes.
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In the second division, the goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann Ten goals have been conceded in three games, the most recent being Cesena’s 3-2 loss to Spezia.
Germany
midfield Malik Tillman Leverkusen played 81 minutes in a 1-0 loss to Union Berlin, ending a seven-game unbeaten run heading into Tuesday’s Champions League second leg against Olympiacos. In the first leg, Leverkusen won 2-0.
teenage center back Noah Kay Bank (17th start) continued to impress at Augsburg, eventually defeating Wolfsburg 3-2.
Reina’s hopes of a call-up continue to dwindle after he missed a fifth consecutive game for Borussia Monchengladbach. In more than two months, he has played only 28 minutes. teammate Joe ScullyThe right winger played the entire game.
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midfield James SandsSt. Pauli’s streak of 17 consecutive starts in all competitions ended, but he came on in the 80th minute to help the team beat Werder Bremen 2-1, lifting Hamburg out of the automatic relegation zone.
In the second division, left wing back John Tolkien (70′) and Holstein Kiel lost 3-1 to Karlsruhe – their fifth defeat in a row.
Spain
midfield Johnny Cardozo Atletico Madrid made their fifth consecutive La Liga start, beating Espanyol 4-2 to end a three-match losing streak in the league.
right back Alex Freeman Did not play in Villarreal’s 2-1 win over Valencia.
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Netherlands
While Pepi’s goal grabbed the headlines for Team USA’s contribution against PSV, the right-back Sergino Dest This was his 22nd start and the team continued to win the championship with a record of 20 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses and a goal difference of 41.
Scotland
center back Alston ReliableA second red card in four weeks – for 74th-minute violence – put Celtic in danger, conceding Hibernian’s late winner in a 2-1 defeat. He will miss the Old Firm’s game against Rangers next Sunday.
MLS
Opening weekend, Team USA’s three Vancouver players – center backs Tristan Blackmonmidfield Sebastian Berhalter and striker Brian White – Playing the entire game, the Whitecaps beat Real Salt Lake 1-0. RSL midfielder Diego Luna Sitting outside due to knee discomfort.
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Five goalkeepers are expected to start, led by Pochettino’s undisputed starter, New York City’s goalkeeper Matt FreeseHe made five saves in a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy. Others are from New England Matt Turnerchicago chris bradyof Columbus Patrick Schulte and Cincinnati Roman Celentano.
center back Tim Rehm (Charlotte), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati) and Walker Zimmerman (Toronto) and left back Max Afstein (Columbus) Play every minute of midfield Luca de la Torre (Charlotte) scored 69 points.
Los Angeles Football Club Midfielder Timothy Tillman He set up an assist in 82 minutes in a 3-0 home win over Inter Miami and went on to play 75,673 games at the Coliseum. midfield Christian Rodin Led Seattle to a 2-0 victory over Colorado.
