Sebastian Berhalter wants to play in Europe
Sebastian Berhalter has been one of the Vancouver Whitecaps' stars this season. He scored two goals and made two assists over two legs as the Whitecaps knocked Inter Miami out of the Champions Cup. Unfortunately, he will be unable to play in the final of the competition versus Cruz Azul due to accumulating too many yellow cards.
Berhalter's performances in the Champions Cup and MLS have led to calls for him to be in Mauricio Pochettino's next USMNT roster. The 24-year-old has considerable potential, and his ambitions align with this. Speaking on Alexi Lalas' State of the Union Podcast, Berhalter said, "My dream since I have been 6 years old is to be in Europe, to play in Europe and to compete at the highest level."
His contract with Vancouver expires at the end of the year, but there have not been any rumors linking him with European clubs. He was born in London, England, when his father Gregg Berhalter was playing for Crystal Palace. Therefore, a move to English soccer would be fitting.
Gregg was also the manager of the Swedish side Hammarby. Sebastian played for their youth teams, so he has had a taste of European soccer. Gregg also spent time in Germany with Energie Cottbus and 1860 Munich. The Chicago Fire head coach also represented the Dutch sides Zwolle, Sparta Rotterdam and Cambuur. Both the Bundesliga and the Eredivisie could also be good options for Sebastian in the future.
Brian Gutierrez linked with AS Roma
Brian Gutierrez is another young American who is performing well in MLS. In eight games in the division for the Chicago Fire, he has scored three goals. The 21-year-old already has two caps for the USMNT, and a move to Europe could come soon.
TUTTOmercatoWeb has reported (translated from Italian) that Gutierrez is "Sought after with interest by Roma." The outlet also valued the player at €6 million and compared him to Barcelona's Dan Olmo.
AS Roma are currently sixth in Serie A, so they could be playing in European competition next season. However, we do not know who their manager will be for the next campaign, with Claudio Ranieri only in temporary charge of the side.
USMNT to play against South Korea and Japan
The USMNT have not been in the best of form recently under Mauricio Pochettino. However, two testing exhibition matches have now been announced for later this year. In September, the Stars and Stripes will play South Korea on the sixth and Japan on the ninth.
A statement on U.S. Soccer read, "The matches will provide the USMNT valuable experience against top quality teams from the Asian Football Confederation, a potential preview of opponents and styles they could face in the World Cup."
Both South Korea and Japan competed at the 2022 World Cup. South Korea beat Portugal in the group stage but lost 4-1 to Brazil in the round of 16. As for Japan, they beat both Spain and Germany in their group. However, they also went out in the last 16, suffering a 4-2 defeat on penalties to Croatia.
Pochettino's side has two friendlies in June against Turkiye and Switzerland. They will then embark on their Gold Cup campaign, where they will face Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the group stage.