Americans Abroad: Josh Sargent continues hot streak as USMNT star Christian Pulisic unites with Mexico's Santi Gimenez to power AC Milan

Just one day after it was confirmed that Pepi would miss the rest of the season, Sargent was back on the scoresheet. What a relief this will be to Pochettino as it looks like he'll still have one in-form striker who plays in Europe to rely on for March's CONCACAF Nations League.

Pepi will be out for those games. So, too, will Folarin Balogun. MLS stars like Brandon Vazquez and Patrick Agyemang will still be in early-season form. That puts a lot of weight on Sargent and, right now, he's showing no issues shouldering it.

You can make it four goals in three games for the Norwich forward, who is well and truly back from injury. His latest came in Norwich's 1-1 draw with Derby County, taking his total up to eight this season in the Championship. He likely won't hit last season's numbers due to his injury lay-off, but Sargent is still putting goals up on the board this season, and he's doing so at the perfect time.

Pochettino will hope he can keep scoring. More importantly, he'll hope he can stay healthy. There's a crisis going on at the USMNT's striker position, but it isn't looking quite so bad thanks to Sargent's recent run of form.

John Tolkin was introduced to the harsh realities of the Bundesliga last weekend. That's when he was thrown to the wolves. Those wolves were Bayern Munich, and they held on to a 4-3 win, despite a late flurry from Holstein Kiel.

That was the bad. Sunday? That was the good. On Sunday, in his second Bundesliga start, Tolkin made his mark, showcasing why it was time for him to make this big leap to a tough league and an even tougher situation at the relegation-threatened club.

The USMNT star provided an assist on Kiel's equalizing goal, helping his new club earn a 2-2 draw with VfL Bochum. The point, in reality, will help only a little. Kiel are still fighting for their lives at the bottom of the Bundesliga and, as things stand, the odds are looking more likely than not that they'll be in the second division next year. Tolkin was brought in to help avoid that, and Sunday showed he could play a part. His looping free-kick found the head of David Zec, helping Kiel take a point out of Sunday's match at home.

The club will need more points, and Tolkin will need to continue to take steps forward to help them get them. Even so, Sunday was a memorable day for the USMNT defender, who can now feel like he's truly arrived in the Bundesliga.

As rumors swirled of an imminent new contract, Weston McKennie retook his place in the heart in the Juventus midfield. It seems he'll remain there for a while and, after several years of that being anything but certain, it's a positive development.

McKennie, who actually captained the historic Italian club recently, was the more attacking of Juve's three midfielders in Friday's 2-0 win over Como. He created three chances and beat defenders twice off the dribble. Defensively, he led the press from the front, making two interceptions while winning 10 of his midfield duels. It was an all-around performance, one that shows why Juve are finally willing to fully put their trust in him.

The club also trusts Tim Weah, who also started out in that right-back position. He, like McKennie, is a jack of all trades for this team and he's been more than capable of figuring out the defensive side. Weah won nine of his 12 duels, made two interceptions, two clearances, and won two tackles, all while getting up and down that right-hand side in an attacking sense.

Both Weah and McKennie have had their difficult moments, but both are so important to what Juventus is doing right now. McKennie, in particular, is set to be rewarded for that importance and, after so long fighting for his place, it feels deserved.

Throughout his career, Ethan Horvath has proven to be a man for the big occasion. One only has to look back at his CONCACAF Nations League heroics a few years back to remember that.

The longtime USMNT backup goalkeeper stepped up in yet another big game on Saturday, this time helping Cardiff City advance in the FA Cup via a shootout win over Stoke City.

His 120-minute performance wasn't anything to get too excited about. It finished 3-3 through those 120 minutes, with Stoke scoring all three of their goals in a rough 18-minute stretch in the second half. The penalty kick shootout is where Horvath shined, though. After two consecutive makes from Cardiff and one from Stoke, Horvath was able to push away Michael Rose's attempt, making the decisive save as the Welsh side won, 4-2, in the shootout.

It hasn't been easy for Horvath these last few years. After proving so vital for Luton Town's push to the Premier League, he settled right back into a backup role at Cardiff, where he's appeared just five times this season. No one has ever doubted his commitment or professionalism, though, which is how he's stuck around the USMNT picture for so long. He faces a fight to do that with a new generation of goalkeepers coming up but, on Saturday, he did show why, in big moments, he's still a goalkeeper to be relied on.

Scoreless at the half, AC Milan needed a spark. They found it, and it came from a combined effort of their USMNT and Mexico stars.

Both Pulisic and Gimenez came off the bench to change the game, with the American providing both assists in the 2-0 win over Empoli. His first came in the 68th minute when his looped cross to the back post fell right to Rafael Leao, who finished to give Milan the 1-0 lead. Eight minutes later, Pulisic played the pass again to tee up Gimenez, who made no mistake with his finish to make it 2-0. It was the Mexican's first goal for Milan after joining them at the end of the January transfer window.

A memorable moment for Gimenez, no doubt, but more of the same for Pulisic. With the assists, he now has six in Serie A this season to go with his six goals. He now leads Milan in league assists with two more than both Leao and Youssouf Fofana while he sits second in goals just behind Tijjani Reijnders.

On Saturday, that CONCACAF chemistry was there. Both Gimenez and Pulisic will be key players for Milan, not just this season but in the seasons to come if all goes to plan. The Rossoneri face a fight to to get back into the race atop Serie A, but Saturday's win, which came despite them going down a man due to a Fikayo Tomori red card, will surely help.

They'll have their North American stars to thank as Pulisic and Gimenez made all the difference for the first time together. Milan, now, will certainly hope it won't be the last.

+ What else is there to say about Tyler Adams? He started in the heart of midfield and was Bournemouth's most accurate passer in a 2-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup

+ Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis threw away a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss to Celta Vigo. Cardoso went all 90 minutes in the Betis midfield.

+ No real chance to change the game for Gio Reyna, who was thrown into the match in the 85th minute with Dortmund losing, 2-1. The American got just six touches as Dortmund fell by that scoreline.

+ Noahkahi Banks came off the bench in the 78th minute as Augsburg settled for a 0-0 draw with Mainz. There was no American-on-American clash, though, as Lennard Maloney was an unused substitute for Mainz.

+ Brenden Aaronson didn't come off the bench as Leeds saw their FA Cup run ended with a 2-0 loss to Millwall.

+ Antonee Robinson was kept out of Fulham's FA Cup visit to Wigan, but the Cottagers were able to win 2-1 anyway to advance to the next round.

+ Joe Scally started and went all 90 minutes for Borussia Monchengladbach in a 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt. Scally was decent defensively while creating two chances on the other side of the field.

+ Close but no cigar for Gianluca Busio and Venezia, who fell, 1-0, to Roma thanks to a second-half Paulo Dybala penalty kick.

+ Tanner Tessmann started and put in 81 good minutes in midfield as Lyon blew out Reims in a straight-forward 3-0 win.

+ A tough loss for James Sands and St. Pauli, who fell 2-0 to RB Leipzig. Sands, though, stood out in midfield, winning a match-leading 11 duels.

+ Mark McKenzie came off at halftime of Toulouse's 2-2 draw with Auxerre due to injury.