The playoff round of European competitions showcased several Americans’ performances. Erik Palmer-Brown scored for Panathinaikos, aiding their 2-1 victory. Dante Polvara’s goal helped Aberdeen draw 2-2. Celtic drew 0-0 with Kairat Almaty despite dominating possession, while other Americans like Leon Flach and Chris Richards contributed in various matches.
The third round off European qualification completed during the week, further narrowing the list of Americans attempting to reach the various League Phases. Erik Palmer-Brown will breathe a sigh of relief after his team’s narrow win, while the American pair of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty at Celtic learned their opponents as they begin their adventure next week in the play-off round.
The road to the group stage of European competition continued rolling along, with the third qualification rounds of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League all kicking off last week.
In the early-rounds of qualification to reach the group stages for the three European competitions, Rokas Pukštas was the only American to earn a start for his team, however the most memorable performance of the round was a limited cameo by former USMNT player Aron Jóhannson.
New LASK arrival George Bello will have a pair of Europa League games against Liverpool to look forward to, while Paxten Aaronson and Tim Chandler will be favorites to advance from their Europa Conference League group with Frankfurt.
Hajduk Split’s Rokas Pukstas will be sidelined for an undisclosed period of time as an announcement from the club has said he suffered a knee injury.
Weston McKennie and Tim Weah will miss out on the heavily anticipated 2023-24 Europa Conference League campaign from Juventus, as the Old Lady has been handed a one-year ban on European competition by UEFA for violations of financial fair play.
A penalty-shootout loss to Sparta ended Taylor Booth and Utrecht’s shot at European qualification, although the American ended a successful first season at the club with a strong substitute performance.
Ricardo Pepi was held goalless in his final game with Groningen, while Djordje Mihailovic and AZ Alkmaar were unable to claim their golden chance to jump into the Eredivisie top three.
Eduvie Ikoba is having a breakout season for his Hungarian club, Zalaegerszegi TE FC, however, life in Hungary didn’t start with smiles as the older brother of Portland Timbers’ Tega Ikoba had to prove to his manager why he should be starting.
