While neither will be playing for their country this summer, all eyes are on American players and Italian giant in Club World Cup
According to FIFA, there are 42 Americans lining up at the Club World Cup, the fifth-most of any country. The two best? They'll be wearing black and white, hoping to lead Juventus back towards a mountaintop that the club has fallen off of in recent years.
U.S. internationals Weston McKennie and Tim Weah can't do that alone, nor can they do it all this summer. Juventus, once Serie A's most dominant club, has fallen back towards the pack. are no longer Italy's dominant force, their last Serie A win came in 2020, but they remain one of the world's biggest teams. That's why this summer means so much. As they prepare to kickstart their run at the Club World Cup, Juventus are fighting for more than just a trophy; they're fighting for legitimacy, not just on the field but off of it.
So, too, are McKennie and Weah. Both missed out on this summer's Gold Cup to take part in this tournament, and considering the U.S. Men's National Team's ongoing controversy surrounding Christian Pulisic, it is safe to assume all players, even the team's biggest stars, have to constantly fight for their place.
Meanwhile, at Juve, no one is ever safe, as McKennie knows particularly well, and both will be among the players fighting to earn new coach Igor Tudor's trust. Tudor was brought in late last season to guide Juventus towards the Champions League. He did that, and now this Club World Cup is his chance to really show his ideas as Juve boss.
This summer is vital for McKennie and Weah on multiple levels, and as they head into this Club World Cup, they do so with a big picture in sight.
"It’s an amazing opportunity, especially being in America," McKennie told FIFA. "I think that’s what's most exciting about it. I think any professional athlete and anyone that’s competitive has a goal to go there and win. So that’s obviously what our mindset is – it’s to go there and do our best in the tournament and try and win a trophy."
Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowAFPMcKennie keeps fighting the good fight
It's become a familiar story for McKennie. Every summer, he arrives at Juventus and, every summer, Juve tries to get rid of him. He fights, he earns his place back, rinse and repeat. However, this year, that doesn't appear to be the case.
After another big season, McKennie and Juventus have been in talks over a new deal, one that will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future. New contract or not, though, McKennie knows how quickly things can change, particularly at a top club like Juventus, where massive changes are always one transfer window away.
Positional changes come even quicker than that. Throughout his time at Juve, McKennie has been the club's everything man. He's started at nearly every position on the field at one point or another. That didn't change under new coach Igor Tudor, who started him as an No. 8, a No. 10, and a wide midfielder after taking charge of the club in March.
“I think I just understand all the positions in that way by playing them," McKennie told FIFA. "I don’t feel like it’s very difficult to understand how you need to play a certain position – if you’re playing left-back, and if you’re playing right-back, or if you’re playing striker, what you need to do in those. It’s something that I’ve always been good at mentally, to be able to do. I think playing many different sports as a young kid, adapting so often and always having to adapt to many things in my life, I think helps me with that.
“I’m not the egoist or anything. I’m not someone who's like, ‘Oh, if I’m not playing this position, I don’t want to play.’ I’m someone like, ‘I’ll play any position you want me to play.' "
A position isn't guaranteed. McKennie continues to fight with the likes of Manuel Locatelli and Kephren Thuram for midfield minutes under Tudor, who tends to use only two central midfielders in a 3-4-2-1. So, while McKennie's actual spot at Juventus seems secure because of discussions over a new deal, his actual place in the team, as always, is on the line as he heads into the Club World Cup.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesWhat to expect from Weah?
Weah, too, has proven that his versatility is an asset. He's played on the wing, at wingback and even up top a bit since arriving at Juventus. However, the USMNT winger is on even more perilous ground than his teammate McKennie as he fights for his own place in the team.
It wasn't too long ago that Weah was linked with an exit, as the American was a rumored target of Everton back in January. Nothing came to fruition, and Weah ended up sticking in Turin. Since Tudor's arrival, though, Weah has been in and out of the XI, starting just three of the nine games under the new boss while coming off the bench in the other six.
That leaves Weah fighting for a wingback spot heading into this summer. He's one of the players in the team that has a point to prove to Tudor, who over the next few months, will shape the squad to his liking. Tudor's first few months were all about steadying the ship; now it's about making sure he has the right people on it.
Can Weah be one of those players? A good Club World Cup run would go a long way towards showing that he can be a meaningful contributor to the team this season and beyond.
GettyThe USMNT angle
While neither McKennie nor Weah are in USMNT camp for the Gold Cup, they aren't immune from the talk that surrounds it. They are two of the stars missing from this Gold Cup team and, while the focus has largely been on one other star in particular, the absences have caused things to boil over quite a bit.
McKennie and Weah's absences are excused due to FIFA's mandate to participate in the Club World Cup. For many, Pulisic's break wasn't – or at least begrudgingly so. It's why the Milan star has been the headline-maker this summer, drawing criticism from ex-players Landon Donovan and Tim Howard, to name a few. Ahead of the Club World Cup, McKennie made sure to stand up for his friend,
“Obviously, none of us takes for granted playing for the national team. None of us wants to lose games," McKennie told USA TODAY Sports. "All of us want to compete. And for me, it's a little bit, I won't say sad, but as a former national team player, I think as a national team player pool – previous, present – I think it's more about trying to build or even say something like that to a person directly rather than putting it out there.
“That's just my opinion because we've all been through those moments, even when comments about us losing the Nations League were made by many players from before, but they've had the same thing on a bigger stage with not qualifying for the World Cup.”
Amid that war of words, though, a message has emerged: no one is safe from criticism or, more importantly, losing their spot. U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino is very clearly resetting the culture, and if a player like Pulisic isn't immune from criticism, then players such as McKennie and Weah have to continually prove themselves. Though their absences are excused, the Gold Cup is opening up opportunities for players to potentially make their case.
In terms of starting spots, it's almost reversed between club and country. Weah’s skillset and pace give him a significant edge for the USMNT, though that could change, especially with players like Diego Luna and Jack McGlynn contributing goals. Still, both offer very different profiles from Weah, whose speed brings a unique dimension to the U.S. attack.
As for McKennie, midfield spots remain competitive, but no one has seriously threatened the Juventus star's place yet. The loss to Switzerland, in particular, highlighted the gap between some of the newer faces and the established core, which McKennie headlines. Tyler Adams is likely the only true lock, with McKennie and Yunus Musah long serving as his primary partners. The rest of the Gold Cup midfield group includes Johnny Cardoso, Malik Tillman, Brenden Aaronson, Luca de la Torre, Sebastian Berhalter, and Paxten Aaronson.
Pochettino will no doubt be following the Club World Cup and, more importantly, following McKennie and Weah's progress. Just because they aren't in camp doesn't mean that the eyes of the USMNT aren't on them one year out from the World Cup.
Getty Images SportJuve's chances
In truth, Juve got a good group stage draw. Up first will be Wednesday's opener against Al-Ain and following that will be a clash with Wydad AC. Unless everything goes wrong, Juve should have six points heading into the group stage finale: a clash with Manchester City that will almost certainly determine who finishes first and second in this foursome.
For Juventus, though, this isn't about the group it's about how far they can go after.
Despite an up-and-down campaign, the squeaked into the Champions League by finishing fourth in Serie A. Mission accomplished, yes, but it was also a sign of how far the club has fallen. Juve used to be a top-four team in the world; now they're scrapping to be a top-four team in their own league. That isn't something fixed in one summer at a tournament, but a deep run in the Club World Cup would certainly help show that Juve are heading in the right direction.
"There is excitement because it's our first time in this competition," Tudor said ahead of the tournament. "Juventus always has the same ambition – to win – and that's what we want to try to do, while always maintaining our humility. We know that the FIFA Club World Cup features the best teams in the world, but we haven’t come here just to take part."
That says nothing of the financial aspect, which is also a huge part of all of this. For years, Italian sides have struggled to keep up with the big spenders of the world, and considering the money on offer this summer, that's a factor, too. Juventus are a team that quite obviously needs strengthening, and every dollar earned this summer could help reinforce a team that has never truly recovered from its $117 million transfer fee spend on Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018.
In many ways, Juventus might just be the team with the most to gain this summer. Real Madrid, Manchester City and PSG don't need the money or the prestige after recent successes. Juventus need both, which will make this tournament feel like a lifeline from the soccer gods at a crucial time. This is a chance to make a real dent in fixing several problems and, maybe, end up with a trophy that can usher in a new era at this club.
What does that mean for Weah and McKennie? Time will tell, but for now, they’ll be chasing this trophy with their teammates. Unlike most of their teammates, though, they carry an added layer of pressure as they head into this home tournament with one eye on the big one that'll come in the U.S. next summer.
