Americans Abroad Best XI: Christian Pulisic and Antonee Robinson are locks, but which USMNT stars join them as this season's best?

GOAL looks back at the very best of the USMNT's stars abroad, position-by-position, for the 2024-25 season

Here's a spoiler: Christian Pulisic makes the cut. So, too, does Antonee Robinson. When looking back at the season for Americans Abroad, however, there are some difficult choices to make when narrowing it down to a Best XI, position-by-position.

This European season was an up-and-down adventure for the U.S. men's national team's top players overseas. There were trophy wins and losses in big finals. There were big promotions and heartbreaking relegations. Injuries wreaked havoc on some key players, while multiple young stars worked to shed that "young" label to earn the star one outright.

There were some tough calls, and a few surprising selections. In a season in which multiple attackers had hot streaks, who joins Pulisic in the attack, for example? Multiple center-back won trophies, but which make the XI? In a season in which the goalkeeping position was so rough - like, really rough - who earns the nod in net?

With the 2024-25 season complete, GOAL selects Americans Abroad Best XI.

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GK: Jonathan Klinsmann
A big shoutout to Klinsmann, who definitely took a big leap forward with Cesena this season. After never fully seizing a chance with the LA Galaxy, Klinsmann did just that with the Serie B side, emerging as a solid starter for a team that finished seventh in the league.
If his father, former USMNT boss Jurgen, is to be believed, clubs in bigger leagues are keeping an eye on him, too.
Klinsmann's selection here is just as about the rest of the USMNT goalkeeper pool, though. Matt Turner hardly played. Ethan Horvath was relegated. Diego Kochen got close to a Barca breakthrough, making the bench several times, but remained with Barca B. It wasn't a great year for the goalkeepers, to put it mildly.

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LB: Antonee Robinson
No doubts here. When you finish with double-digit Premier League assists despite playing fullback, you're a pretty easy choice.
Robinson racked up 10 assists in England's top flight, leaving him tied for fourth in the league. The Fulham star looked destined for more, too, before his pace slowed down massively in a period that just so happened to coincide with an injury.
If Robinson was fully fit, we might be talking about one of the best seasons from a fullback in Premier League history. It was an incredible campaign for Robinson, though, and the USMNT will be eager to get him back once he's healthy.
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CB: Cameron Carter-Vickers
This spot was always going to go to one of the Celtic defenders, given their title success. The only question was which one. Auston Trusty was generally good during his first season in Scotland, featuring 22 times in the league and 10 more in the Champions League.
There were certainly some good moments in there, but Carter-Vickers gets the final nod. The Celtic veteran was ever-present throughout the season, lifting his fourth league title and third League Cup since joining the Scottish giants.

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CB: Chris Richards
Another trophy winner here, although this one was significantly more unexpected.
Richards helped lead Crystal Palace to a historic FA Cup win, serving as an anchor in their back three all the way up through their final victory over Manchester City. It truly was a breakout season for Richards, who firmly established himself as a Premier League-level defender with his performances both in the cup and throughout the league campaign.
A shoutout to Mark McKenzie, though, as he misses out despite a strong season at Toulouse.
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RB: Joe Scally
A tough choice between Scally and Richy Ledezma, but the Borussia Monchengladbach defender just earns the nod due to one thing: consistency.
Scally set a career high in minutes in 2024-25, starting 32 of Gladbach's 34 league matches to further prove his status as a rock-solid Bundesliga defender. All of this came during a vital period with the USMNT due to Sergino Dest's injury, with Scally playing big minutes for club and country all through the season, helping Gladbach to another midtable finish.
Ledezma does deserve kudos, though, for stepping into Dest's spot with PSV admirably and helping the club win a league title.
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CM: Johnny Cardoso
The run to the Europa Conference League final didn't end the way Cardoso and Real Betis wanted, but that doesn't diminish with the American midfielder did this season.
Throughout the season, Cardoso established himself as one of the better defensive midfielders in La Liga, finishing in the 98th percentile in interceptions across Europe's top five leagues.
That's why clubs such as Atletico Madrid and Tottenham are reportedly interested, and that's why many are hoping Cardoso takes a leap with the USMNT this summer, too.
He'll look to do so alongside Tyler Adams, who gets a mention for a very solid season with Bournemouth.
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CM: Weston McKennie
In reality, you could drop McKennie into just about any position, because he played just about all of them for Juventus this season. Ultimately, he did win that midfield spot back, though, and Juve will be glad he did.
In the end, McKennie featured in 32 Serie A matches for Juventus, scoring twice and assisting four to help the Old Lady return to the Champions League with a fourth place finish. After several preseasons on the chopping block, McKennie is now one of the few stars at Juve that are untouchable as he continues to do it all for one of Italy's biggest clubs.
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CAM: Malik Tillman
He was arguably the best player in the Eredivisie this season, so of course he makes the list.
After scoring nine goals in 2023-24, Tillman stepped up with even more this season, netting 12 times in just 26 appearances. Throughout, he proved to be an elite chance creator and top-tier dribbler, dominating Eredivisie defenders with ease all season long.
Tillman likely doesn't have long left in the Dutch top flight - he's shown that he's ready for a bigger challenge after absolutely dominating the Eredivisie en route to a second consecutive league title.
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LW: Paxten Aaronson
Cheating a little bit here, as Aaronson did play a bulk of his minutes centrally, but he also played left wing.
The reason to jam him in is because he was spectacular for Utrecht this season, netting eight goals to go with six assists for the club in all competitions. With Aaronson helping to lead the way, Utrecht finished fourth in the Eredivisie, booking a spot in Europa League qualifiers next season.
It doesn't seem as if Aaronson will be there for that, as his parent club, Eintracht Frankfurt, will surely want to take a closer look. Aaronson sure made the most of this loan, though, by breaking through as a young player in a league that is tailor-made for players looking to do just that.
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ST: Ricardo Pepi
A very difficult choice between Pepi and Josh Sargent. Both had insane runs of form, scoring goal after goal to carry their respective teams. Both also dealt with injury issues. And both have a legitimate argument for this spot.
We'll give Pepi the nod, though. He netted 11 goals in 18 Eredivisie matches and was marching towards a Golden Boot before an injury sidelined him in January. He added two goals in the Champions League - showing he can do it at an even higher level.
We saw too little of Pepi this season, but his presence is a tribute to how good he was when healthy.
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RW: Christian Pulisic
As if there was any doubt.
Pulisic was incredible throughout an underwhelming AC Milan season, serving as one of the few bright spots for the club during an ugly campaign. He had 11 goals and nine assists in Serie A, leading the club in both. He scored four more and assisted another in the Champions League - and his two goals in the Supercoppa Italiana won the club a trophy, too.
Ultimately, this was Pulisic's best individual season, and it's actually even more impressive when you consider how lackluster Milan's collective effort proved to be.