USMNT Watch: Christian Pulisic Dazzles Once Again for Borussia Dortmund
The future star of the United States men's national team once again impressed at one of the highest levels of the game on Saturday for Borussia Dortmund.
Christian Pulisic netted a goal and handed out a pair of assists for Dortmund to add to the growing amount of hype that surrounds him with every start in the Bundesliga.
Pulisic wasn't the only high-profile American who had an eventful day in the German top flight, and he wasn't the only young attacking stud to score.
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We'll have more on Pulisic and updates on the rest of the players in the USMNT player pool below in our weekly USMNT Watch.
Christian Pulisic Shines for Dortmund in Blowout Victory
Pulisic put on a show one day before his 18th birthday in Dortmund's 6-0 victory over Darmstadt 98 at home on Saturday.
The Pennsylvania native scored his third career Bundesliga goal in the 54th minute on a deft first touch from open space on the right side of the box.
Pulisic also recorded two assists late in the second half, as he set up Gonzalo Castro in the 78th minute and Emre Mor in the 88th minute.
The marvelous performance from Pulisic came three days after he made his first start of the season for Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League against Legia Warsaw. The midfielder dished out an assist in the 6-0 road victory in Poland.
It's hard not to get excited about the things Pulisic is doing at a high level at both the club and international levels. The hype is 100 percent real, and the player doesn't seem to be affected, on or off the pitch, by what is said about him in America and Germany.
At this point in time, Pulisic should be one of the first names on the teamsheet for the USMNT. There is no doubt he is ready to make an impact in a starting role regardless of the opponent. If he continues to trend upward, his breakout game for the Yanks could come on November 11, against Mexico, to open the Hexagonal round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Fabian Johnson, Aron Johannsson Play Key Roles in 5-Goal Shootout
Fabian Johnson and Aron Johannsson squared off for the first time this season in the Bundesliga on Saturday, as Borussia Monchengladbach downed Werder Bremen 4-1 at Borussia-Park.
Johnson helped the hosts open the scoring in the 11th minute, assisting the first of two Thorgan Hazard strikes.
Johannsson played a role in the lone Bremen tally, as he set up Serge Gnabry in the 73rd minute. However, the 25-year-old was not able to help add a second, as he was sent off seven minutes later for an apparent display of dissent.
Elsewhere in the Bundesliga, Bobby Wood played 84 minutes for Hamburg in their 4-0 defeat to RB Leipzig. Terrence Boyd was not in the squad for Leipzig. Timothy Chandler played the full 90 at right-back for Eintracht Frankfurt against Bayer Leverkusen, while Julian Green did not feature for Bayern Munich during their 3-1 victory over Ingolstadt.
Andrew Wooten played the first 67 minutes of Sandhausen's 2-1 loss to Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2. Bundesliga. Jerome Kiesewetter made an eight-minute cameo off the bench for Fortuna Dusseldorf.
Jordan Morris Moves into Double Digits in MLS Scoring Column
The other highly lauded young attacker in the USMNT talent pool, Jordan Morris, made some headlines of his own in Major League Soccer on Saturday, scoring the game-winner for the Seattle Sounders.
Morris headed home Nicolas Lodeiro's cross from the right wing to put the Sounders ahead of the Vancouver Whitecaps in the 81st minute. It was the the Stanford University product's fifth game-winning goal of the season, which set a new rookie record in MLS.
The Sounders and USMNT received a bit of good news on Wednesday, as Clint Dempsey returned to training, per a club statement.
Ethan Finlay turned in a stellar showing for the Columbus Crew on Saturday, with a goal and two assists in their 4-1 win over Orlando City at Camping World Stadium. The American winger scored in the eighth minute and assisted on both of Ola Kamara's tallies.
Thomas McNamara opened the scoring for New York City FC in their 2-2 draw with FC Dallas at Yankee Stadium. McNamara should be worth a look during the annual January camp.
Juan Agudelo failed to extend his scoring streak for the New England Revolution, but he did help out on Kei Kamara's first-minute goal in a 3-1 win against the Montreal Impact.
Patrick Mullins, Steve Birnbaum and Matt Polster all started in the 2-2 draw between D.C. United and Chicago Fire on Friday. None of those players contributed to a goal at Toyota Park.
Keegan Rosenberry and Alejandro Bedoya went the full 90 for the Philadelphia Union in their 2-1 loss to the Portland Timbers.
Cameron Carter-Vickers Moving Close to 1st Team at Spurs
The next American youngster to get excited about is Tottenham Hotspur center-back Cameron Carter-Vickers.
The 18-year-old defender has found himself in the matchday squad for Spurs during the start of the Premier League season, but he hasn't cracked the starting lineup yet.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino recently stated Carter-Vickers is close to doing that, per NBC Sports.
If he starts to receive playing time in the Premier League, Carter-Vickers could creep his way up the USMNT depth chart at the position—or at the least receive a call-up into the senior team to show manager Jurgen Klinsmann what he's all about.
Brad Guzan was once again on the bench for Middlesbrough on Saturday, while DeAndre Yedlin was an unused substitute for Newcastle United in their 2-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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