USMNT Stock Watch: Paul Arriola, Jordan Morris trending up

Major League Soccer kicked off its 2019 season over the weekend and for the top American players based in the domestic league, the timing couldn’t be better. That’s because U.S. men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter will announce his roster next week ahead of two friendly matches later this month against tricky South American foes Ecuador and Chile.

The pressure to impress Berhalter before he makes his picks is also being felt overseas, with two key midfielders bent on returning from injury in time and a pair of young forwards hoping that their lack of recent playing time isn’t held against them.

Whose stock is rising or falling this week, and why? Find out below.

Trending up

M Paul Arriola, D.C. United (MLS)

Building off his goal for the U.S. against Costa Rica last month, the 24-year-old scored D.C.’s winner in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over defending MLS Cup champion Atlanta:

Takeaway: It wasn’t just the goal; deployed on the left wing, Arriola was the Black and Red’s most active and dangerous player from start to finish. With a few of the national team’s wide players either injured or idle overseas (more on that below), the hard-working Californian is making a strong case to start this month’s friendlies.

F Jordan Morris, Seattle Sounders (MLS)

After missing the entire 2018 season with a torn ACL, Morris stole the show in Seattle’s opener against expansion FC Cincinnati by scoring twice in the 4-1 win, including a beauty with his often-maligned left foot:

Takeaway: More important than the goals, the 24-year-old showed flashes of the blazing speed that earned him 25 U.S. caps under previous coaches Bruce Arena and Jurgen Klinsmann. This month’s international matches might come a tad too soon for him, but rest assured that his combination of size, quickness and finishing ability will get Morris serious consideration for the Gold Cup squad if he continues to produce for the Sounders.

M Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund (Germany)

The USMNT’s most indispensable player didn’t dress for Friday’s surprising loss to Augsburg because of injury, but Dortmund coach Lucien Favre indicated that Pulisic could return soon, perhaps even in time for Tuesday’s Champions League round of 16 second leg against Tottenham Hotspur.

Takeaway: If everything goes according to plan, Pulisic is expected to be available for inclusion on Berhalter’s first full-strength roster.

M Michael Bradley, Toronto FC (MLS)

Bradley scored twice in TFC’s impressive — and unexpected — 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Union, his second off a trademark late run into the box:

Takeaway: As much as many U.S. fans don’t want to hear it, the 31-year-old is probably the best pure defensive midfielder in the player pool right now, with energetic Germany-based youngsters Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie better suited in box-to-box or roles (or even right back in Berhalter’s particular system). The U.S. missed him against the Ticos, but his rare brace can’t hurt his chances of returning to the lineup later this month.

D John Brooks, Wolfsburg (Germany)

Central defender Brooks scored his second goal of the season in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen:

Takeaway: Again, the strike is mostly a bonus for the towering Brooks, who could become a key for the Americans on set plays this cycle. The bigger story this year is his consistency; the Berlin native has played in all but one of Wolfsburg’s matches, and he’s in the top-20 in the Bundesliga in completed passes, possession and aerial duels won.

G Ethan Horvath, Club Brugge (Belgium)

Horvath picked up his first clean sheet of 2019 in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Truidense.

Takeaway: It was also the 23-year-old’s 21st consecutive start for Brugge, all but ensuring that the Colorado native is one of three keepers summoned by Berhalter for this month’s games. The question is, does the new coach consider him to be presumed starter Zack Steffen’s No. 2 ahead of veteran Brad Guzan?

F Andrija Novakovich, Fortuna Sittard (Netherlands)

Novakovich scored his sixth goal of the Eredivisie season in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to AZ Alkmaar:

Takeaway: Six goals in 20 games in the defensively suspect Dutch league probably isn’t enough to warrant an invite if other options are available. On the other hand, Novakovich could benefit from the Americans’ unusually shallow (even by U.S. standards) forward pool.

Trending down

M Weston McKennie, Schalke (Germany)

McKennie hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury in a Champions League loss to Manchester City last month. Schalke has missed the all-action Texan dearly, losing its last two league matches while getting outscored 7-0.

Takeaway: Schalke will play just one more game before Berhalter names his squad. If McKennie can’t go, it’s hard to see him being included.

M Josh Sargent, Werder Bremen (Germany)

A week after making his first Bundesliga start, Sargent was an unused substitute in Werder’s draw with Brooks’ Wolfsburg — just the second time in eight games he didn’t see the field.

Takeaway: There’s no need to worry about Sargent, who’s been brought along at an ideal pace by manager Florian Kohfeldt and just signed a long-term contract extension after scoring twice in his first nine games.

F Tim Weah, Celtic (Scotland)

After a hot start which included three goals in his first five games for the Bhoys following his January loan from Paris Saint-Germain, Weah has been rooted to the bench in three of Celtic’s last four contests.

Takeaway: More concerning for Weah might be the fact that the Brendan Rodgers, the manager who brought him to Glasgow, left the club last week for Premier League Leicester City.

Doug McIntyre covers soccer for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.

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