Americans Abroad Tiers: Weston McKennie leads the pack, Christian Pulisic fades late, and more club disappointment for Gio Reyna

Weston McKennie (Juventus): A legitimate superstar for Juventus, one who carried the team through stretches in Italy and Europe. Got what he deserved with a long-awaited new contract worthy of his game-changing abilities for the club.

Folarin Balogun (Monaco): Absolutely unstoppable down the stretch, Balogun emerged as one of Ligue 1's most dangerous weapons. With 13 league goals and five more in the Champions League, this was the version of Balogun that Monaco really wanted when they signed him a few years back.

Tyler Adams (Bournemouth): Bournemouth are headed to Europe - who would have seen that coming? Adams is a key reason why, too, after putting together his most complete season in midfield, despite still dealing with some injury issues that sidelined him for part of it.

Auston Trusty (Celtic): Kept the faith, won a bunch of games, and ultimately, lifted two trophies with Celtic. Credit to the USMNT defender for really stepping up over the course of the season. A first World Cup now awaits.

Chris Richards (Crystal Palace): Solid in the Premier League and great in Europe, Crystal Palace can still make history by lifting a Conference League trophy. Richards' injury means he likely won't play, but he did a heck of a job to help them get there.

Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough): Despite it ending in a World Cup snub, there's no overlooking Morris' progress this season. With Middlesbrough, he emerged as one of the Championship's best midfielders, although he'll be disappointed to be staying in that league another year after losing the playoff finale.

Ricardo Pepi (PSV): Despite some more injury issues, Pepi finished with 16 goals in 1,415 league minutes for PSV. That includes seven goals over his last six games to really put an exclamation point on another dominant Eredivisie run.

Haji Wright (Coventry City): Dominated the Championship one more time for Coventry City to book a Premier League place. His 17 goals got them there, but what can he do now at the highest level? We'll find out next season!

Patrick Agyemang (Derby County): Absolutely fantastic, scoring 10 goals before an Achilles injury ruined his season and World Cup hopes. By the end of his first Championship run, there was no denying that Agyemang belonged. Now, U.S. fans will have to see what things look like when he gets back to full fitness.

Gianluca Busio (Venezia): Headed back to Serie A! Busio and Venezia did their thing in Serie B this season, and the American midfielder had a bigger role than ever as part of that. Now, he gets a chance to take a huge leap forward in Italy's top flight.

Christian Pulisic (AC Milan): It was a strange season for the USMNT’s main man. He was electric for a few months, then faded as Milan’s own campaign unraveled late. By the end, he was no longer an automatic starter, making this a year that started with real promise but ended with a clear need for a summer reset - one that will begin on the World Cup stage.

Sergino Dest (PSV): Another title with PSV, but also another season with some injury issues. When he wasn't hurt, he was trademark Dest and, fortunately, those injury issues won't carry into this summer's tournament.

Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach): The example of consistency. Scally has been a mainstay for Borussia Monchengladbach for years, and that didn't change this year as he continues to be someone that the club can rely on. That consistency, ultimately, did wonders for his World Cup case.

Mark McKenzie (Toulouse): Really took a step forward with Toulouse, establishing himself as a legitimate defender in Ligue 1. As a club, Toulouse finished in the same place they did last season, but McKenzie played much better and seemed more comfortable.

Brenden Aaronson (Leeds): The goal was simple this season: prove you can compete in the Premier League. Aaronson did that, showing plenty of good flashes for Leeds. The next step remains turning those flashes into actual goals and assists, and there weren't quite enough of those this season.

Timothy Weah (Marseille): Numbers won't say it, but Weah was pretty big for Marseille this season, doing a whole bunch of different things in several different roles. That's valuable, even if he isn't putting up boatloads of goals and assists.

John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel): One of the few legitimate bright spots for Holstein Kiel in the 2. Bundesliga before an injury got him. In truth, Tolkin probably deserves to be playing at a higher level.

Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid): Was asked to take a big leap going from Real Betis to Atletico Madrid, but he generally looked the part, even if he wasn't always a go-to starter. Will be heartbroken to miss the World Cup due to a late-season injury that surely messed up the USMNT's midfield plans.

Rokas Pukstas (Hajduk Split): Seems ready to spread his wings after several years in Croatia with Hajduk Split. The midfielder is definitely one to keep an eye on next cycle.

Antonee Robinson (Fulham): Finally shook off the injury bug to get back onto the field. Was pretty good when he played, but never really captured the high-flying form that led to him being U.S. Soccer's Male Player of the Year for 2024 before the injury bug got him.

Alex Freeman (Villarreal): More of an "incomplete" than anything. Took a while to get his chance, but once he did, he really seized it. Plenty of reason for optimism next year after this half-year adjustment period.

Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen): A mixed bag. Six goals in a debut season for a new club. Zero assists, though? Not good. Still, worth remembering that this was a step up for Tillman after a high-profile move from PSV. He had enough good moments to give you hope for the future.

Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena): Ever-present for Serie B side Cesena before suffering a broken neck. A tough blow for the goalkeeper, who did get a taste of USMNT camp in the fall.

Kristoffer Lund (Koln): A pretty good first season in the Bundesliga with Koln. Was a valuable starter for the club throughout, and it'll be interesting to see what happens next with him after this strong season on loan.

Tanner Tessmann (Lyon): Started well, but got worse for Tessmann, who drifted to Lyon's bench down the stretch before an injury ended his campaign for the home stretch. Ultimately, it didn't end well for the midfielder, who surprisingly missed the World Cup.

Noahkai Banks (Augsburg): Earned a USMNT chance in the fall and seemed ready to push for a World Cup spot. Then, after asking to bide his time due to German national team interest, Banks fell off completely on the club level, sitting out the final months of the season as a substitute.

James Sands (St. Pauli): Less a reflection on Sands than it is a reflection on St. Pauli, who were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. Making matters worse? Sands could only watch on as he missed the last two months of the season due to injury.

Gio Reyna (Borussia Monchengladbach): Another season with minimal club minutes. Started just four games and scored just one goal. Still, it was enough to get him into the USMNT group based on talent alone.

Yunus Musah (AC Milan): After sitting out the Gold Cup, Musah was unable to get back into the USMNT picture, largely due to a total lack of playing time at Atalanta. He's now certainly at a career crossroads, having already missed the World Cup for not truly kicking on this season.`

Benjamin Cremaschi (Parma): Seemed poised for a new chapter after heading to Parma on loan from Inter Miami. That new chapter ended in disaster due to a meniscus injury after limited minutes to begin with.

Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic): An injury ruined his season early and, ultimately, ended his World Cup hopes. That's frustrating for the Celtic defender, who surely would have been in the mix for the USMNT with another standout season at Celtic.

Damion Downs (Hamburg): The move to Southampton was a mess. The loan back to Hamburg didn't fix it. Ultimately, those two moves wasted a year of Downs' development and took him right out of the running for a World Cup spot.

Cole Campbell (Hoffenheim): At the start of the season, it looked like Campbell could break out for Borussia Dortmund. By the end, he was scrapping for minutes in Hoffenheim, and ultimately, played even fewer games than he did last season. That's not ideal for a young player.

Lennard Maloney (Mainz): Just wasn't a big part of Mainz's plans. Maloney played just 472 minutes and started just four games, none in 2026.