Americans Abroad: Coventry's Haji Wright states case to USMNT's Mauricio Pochettino, while Gio Reyna makes Gladbach debut

Haji Wright was among the omissions  from the most recent U.S. national team, and he sent a message to Pochettino on Saturday. The striker delivered a stoppage-time equalizer for Coventry in a 1-1 draw against Norwich. 

Statistically speaking, Norwich had no business being in this contest as Coventry outshot the Canaries 28-4. Yet, they took an early lead thanks to Mathias Kvistgaarden. But in the dying seconds, Wright responded, pouncing on a opportunity in the box to bail out the home side. Wright was active throughout the match, creating chances and challenging the goalkeeper.

The same could not be said for Norwich's Josh Sargent. The USMNT striker only had one shot and made just five passes for his club. Some of that was due to Coventry having the lion's share of attacking opportunities, but it wouldn't be far-fetched to wonder if Sargent's struggles with the national team might have led to a quiet night for the forward, who recently won the Championship's Player of the Month for August. 

The 2025-26 campaign hasn’t gone as planned for McKennie, who was left out of the USMNT’s September friendlies while the familiar question - will he play? - resurfaced under Juventus manager Igor Tudor. Yet in the biggest game of the season so far for the Old Lady, McKennie got the call, and he delivered.

The 27-year-old was all over the pitch in a stunning 4-3 win over rivals Inter Milan. In 78 minutes, McKennie connected on 86.4 percent of his passes, a cross, and a long ball. He also had three tackles, two clearances, and two blocked shots defensively. It wasn't a perfect outing for the American, as he was part of the group that had no answers for Inter Milan as they seemingly rallied after every Juventus goal. 

Yet, in what was arguably the best game of the European season so far, McKennie got the start and was heavily-involved - a key sign of confidence from Tudor after some previous uncertainty. It's still early in the season, but the club has won all of its games on the campaign and sit second to Napoli due to goal differential. 

OK, so it wasn't pretty. Yes, Gio Reyna's Borussia Monchengladbach were battered at home by a team they are supposed to beat. Yes, they are still scoreless through three games, and in the relegation zone. But there are two good things to latch onto here, especially if you for American fans.

The first, and most basic, is that Reyna started, played 75 minutes, and didn't get injured. Fitness has been a massive issue for the attacking midfielder, but he managed to shake out the legs here. That's more than he could have said in most matches at Dortmund.

Second, Reyna looked quite good. He operated mostly in glimpses, neat touched here and there, as well as a few clever passes. Defensively, he wasn't full of legs, but still made some smart runs and closed down passing lanes. The Bundesliga tends to rely heavily on pressing, and Reyna did his part - even if he wasn't putting in 30 yard sprints all of the time.

Yes, it was a rough result. And yes, there is already talk that manager Gerardo Seoane is under pressure. But Reyna did all he could in his club debut. And for that he deserves plenty of credit. 

It's been a long time coming, but Patrick Agyemang made his long-awaited debut for Derby, having an immediate impact in the Rams' 1-0 win. The striker joined Derby in August, but was withheld from action while recovering from a hernia.

The former Charlotte FC star came on in the 69th minute, and less than 20 minutes later, found another substitute in Andreas Weimann for the 84th-minute winner. 

“Patrick today was great for that 20 minutes when he came on,” Derby County manager John Eustace said. “It’s been a tough six or seven weeks for him as well. So we’re getting minutes into the legs, we’re getting minutes into the squad.”

While Agyemang's move to Derby caused some friction at his former club and raised concerns considering what had essentially been guaranteed minutes for Charlotte FC, if this debut is anything to go by, it's a momentum-builder in a crowded competition for the striker spot with the U.S squad.

In limited action, Agyemang was effective in the air, winning a aerial duel and drawing two fouls. It will be interesting to see whether Pochettino calls on the 6-4 striker in October.

+ Pulisic played 30 minutes without scoring or assisting for Milan, coming off the bench, as the club ground out a 1-0 win over Bologna.

+ Johnny Cardoso was on the bench and didn't play in Atletico Madrid's first win of the season, a 2-0 blanking of Villarreal.

+ Parma loan signing Benjamin Cremaschi was on the bench, but he didn't feature in the team's 2-0 loss.

+ Tyler Adams started and played 90 minutes in Bournemouth's 2-1 win over Brighton.

+ Chris Richards helped Crystal Palace get another clean sheet, but the Eagles' attack couldn't find a way past newly-promoted Sunderland. 

+ Brenden Aaronson got a rare Premier League start for Leeds, but he couldn't help the team overcome Fulham in a 1-0 loss. Antonee Robinson was on the bench but didn't play for Fulham.

+ Tim Weah started in Marseille's 4-0 win over Lorient. 

+ Folarin Balogun started and played 63 minutes, but didn't have a goal contribution in Monaco's 2-1 win over Auxerre.

+ Yunus Musah managed just 15 minutes in Atalanta's 4-1 win over Lecce, his debut with the club after leaving Milan.