USMNT: Best starting XI based on FIFA 20 career mode potential

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COLOGNE, GERMANY – FEBRUARY 29: (BILD ZEITUNG OUT) Weston McKennie of FC Schalke 04 looks on during the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Koeln and FC Schalke 04 at RheinEnergieStadion on February 29, 2020 in Cologne, Germany. (Photo by Mario Hommes/DeFodi Images via Getty Images) /

Central Midfield

CM: Weston McKennie

Age: 20

Starting Rating: 76

Potential: 86

Club: Schalke 04

Weston McKennie has played week in and week out for Schalke when fit and available. He even, scored their first and so far only goal since the Bundesliga’s restart this week. He is an athletic, box-to-box player who has a knack for scoring goals, including six in 19 games for the USMNT, and can play either as a holding player or further forward. His versatility and spatial intelligence is key in an all-around central midfield role.

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Potential Player Comparison: Marquinhos (PSG/Brazil; also plays both of McKennie’s positions)

CM: Tyler Adams

Age: 20

Starting Rating: 76

Potential: 86

Club: RB Leipzig

Injuries have kept Tyler Adams from making as much of a mark as some of the other future stars coming through RB Leipzig, but being at a club with that pedigree of developing (and to an extent poaching from other clubs) young talent bodes well for the young midfielder, who has been involved whenever fit. There is a lot of debate as to whether he’s better at right-back or central midfield, but as far as this team goes, Adams provides defensive qualities in midfield that are invaluable.

Potential Player Comparisons: Fabinho (Liverpool/Brazil), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich/Spain), Miralem Pjanic (Juventus/Bosnia and Herzegovina)

CAM: Gio Reyna

Age: 16

Starting Rating: 66

Potential: 86

Club: Borussia Dortmund

The newest addition to the ranks of young American talent in the Bundesliga is an exciting prospect. Born in Sunderland to Claudio Reyna, a USMNT player with plenty of experience in Europe, Gio Reyna chose to follow in his father’s footsteps and has now begun to make a name for himself. He broke Christian Pulisic’s record as the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga and then became the youngest American to play and earn an assist in the UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately, he got injured in the warmups for Dortmund’s first game back following the Bundesliga resuming, but he appears to be key to the plans of Dortmund going forward, especially if Jadon Sancho leaves this summer.

Potential Player Comparisons: Jadon Sancho (Dortmund/England), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax/Morocco), Koke (Atlético Madrid/Spain)

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