Americans Abroad: Tim Weah and Josh Sargent prepare for USMNT returns as Juventus' Weston McKennie looks to respond to roster exclusion by Mauricio Pochettino

Last week was good for Tim Weah and Marseille. After losing their opener, and setting off another chain reaction of chaos, Weah and Marseille crushed Paris FC, 5-2, to bring some energy to the season. Next up, though, is another big test, one that comes against another one of French soccer's heavy hitters.

Weah and Marseille will face Tanner Tessmann and Lyon this weekend in the Choc des Olympiques. While it may not be France's fiercest rivalry, it is traditionally one of the country's most competitive. These are two very good teams, and both will have a point to prove.

So, too, will their Americans. Weah is set to rejoin the USMNT next week, but is still looking to show his skill with his new club. Tessmann will not be heading on international duty, so this will seem like an opportunity to message Pochettino.

This season's Choc des Olympiques will have uniquely American feel - and an important one.

Weston McKennie's absence was one of the big storylines of the USMNT roster drop. There were plenty of exclusions, yes, but McKennie's was among the most glaring. There was no big transfer or big injury to explain it. Pochettino said it was a chance to look at the new instead of the familiar, particularly after a unusual summer with the Club World Cup on McKennie's plate.

Now getting going in Serie A, McKennie is once again looking to prove himself as a starter at Juventus. That continues this week against Genoa.

McKennie didn't start the club's opening win against Parma, coming off the bench late to see out the game. It's clear that, once again, McKennie isn't quite a locked-in starter. Instead, he's a guy who will need to earn that place. Again.

The same appears to be true with the USMNT as, even with Pochettino's reasoning, McKennie will surely sense the need to fight for a spot in an ever-expanding USMNT midfield.

There aren't many more difficult games in the world than those against PSG. They're monsters. It's how they won the Champions League last season, and how they came so close to winning the Club World Cup fresh off the heels of that.

Good luck to Mark McKenzie and Toulouse, then, as they face the Parisians this weekend. Toulouse dropped all six points to PSG last season, as most teams do. They fell, 3-0, in Paris in November before putting up a real fight in the return fixture, losing 1-0 at home. Maybe that second result will give them some confidence, but it's hard to ever really be confident when you're in Ligue 1 team facing the league's boogeyman team.

McKenzie and Toulouse, though, will be feeling good. They're actually ahead of PSG at the moment on goal difference, fresh off a 1-0 win over Nice and  2-0 win over Brest. This, of course, is a whole different game. If McKenzie and co. can keep another clean sheet, that would be one hell of a statement.

Neither Joe Scally nor Gio Reyna made it onto the USMNT roster. There's a chance we see both play for Borussia Monchengladbach this weekend, though.

All eyes will, of course, be on Reyna as he looks to make his debut for his new club after the long-anticipated move away from Dortmund. It could come on Saturday, away from home against Stuttgart. Reyna began training with the team this week and seems to be adjusting well to life with his new club. The only question is his fitness level, having played so little not just in preseason, but throughout the last year or so.

Scally, meanwhile, will have more eyes on him than usual, too, and not just because of Reyna. A mainstay with Gladbach, Scally, like Reyna, was left out of the USMNT squad after also missing out on the Gold Cup this summer. It was a surprising decision, especially given Scally's consistency and versatility. It'll likely light a fire under him, too.

Gladbach have suddenly became one of the teams to watch for American soccer fans, especially this weekend.

There's been no stopping Josh Sargent this season. In four games in all competitions to start this season, he's scored four goals. You can stretch it to five, too, if you count Norwich's final preseason friendly against NAC Breda. His potential next target? Blackburn Rovers in the final match before the international break.

Out of all of the players in the USMNT squad, Sargent may be the one under the biggest microscope during these upcoming USMNT friendlies. He's scored boatloads for club, but none for country since 2019. Even with Folarin Balogun's late call-up, this seems to be Sargent's best chance to make his mark ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

If he wants to start, he's got to get going now.

Know what would help that pursuit? One more momentum-boosting goal before his cross-Atlantic flight. It won't matter if he can't get going for the USMNT, but a big performance against Blackburn would maintain the momentum.