Americans Abroad: Can Christian Pulisic shake off his struggles? Will Yunus Musah get back among the goals? And can Malik Tillman break out of a slump?

Eighteen months ago, Yunus Musah was an absolute shoo-in for the USMNT. In many ways, he looked like the perfect international midfielder. He could play almost anywhere — central midfield, attacking midfield and even out wide if needed. Everything seemed nicely poised.

But then he got his summer move wrong. Musah, somewhat inexplicably, signed for Atalanta on loan.

For the better part of six months, he barely saw the field. In fact, Musah has only recently worked his way back into the picture for the struggling Serie A side. He told GOAL earlier this week that this year’s adversity may have shaped him. True or not, Musah now appears to have his opportunity. And this weekend presents another one.

The picture is not great. Atalanta sit seventh, five points outside the Champions League places they expected to challenge for. Inter, Saturday’s opponent, are top of the table.

Yet there may be some hope. Inter have not scored in their last two matches, and their performances have dipped of late. Could Musah make the difference?

It has been a rough spell for Malik Tillman. In fairness, the American was placed in a difficult spot. Bayer Leverkusen lost Florian Wirtz this summer, and Tillman was, in effect, charged with replacing him. That is an impossible assignment.

Yet he has still underwhelmed a little. Tillman acknowledged to GOAL that he has underperformed this year and needs to get going in the Bundesliga. Things worsened in the Champions League this week when he gave away a silly penalty against Arsenal that may have hurt his team’s chances of advancing.

And what about this weekend as a chance for redemption? Bayern Munich, Saturday’s opponent, have been ripping through the Bundesliga this season. They have been excellent at both ends of the pitch. Leverkusen will need to be rock solid defensively and clinical in attack. It will be a difficult afternoon, and Tillman will have a role to play. If he seizes his moment, they will have a chance.

Some of Christian Pulisic’s recent struggles have been a bit overblown. The tangible production in front of goal simply is not there right now. On paper, the lack of offensive output does not look good.

Yet two factors are working against him. The first is that he is being misused. Pulisic is not a striker, and asking him to play in a front two is a difficult assignment. The second is that Milan, as a whole, have not done a particularly good job of taking their chances. Pulisic can shoulder some of the blame, but he is still getting into the right areas and doing the things he should. Sometimes a team simply is not clicking.

Last week was important, though. Milan beat Inter 1-0 in a rather poor match. Pulisic was solid, creating a few chances for the Rossoneri. That will need to continue against Lazio this weekend. Milan sit seven points behind Inter atop Serie A and are improving each week. Their crosstown rivals have the experience and composure when it comes to closing out titles. But Milan are still within touching distance. These kinds of matches, against disciplined defensive sides, need to be won.

Where are my Croatian league truthers? OK, there is not exactly a massive fan base for the league in the United States. But if you are paying attention, you may have noticed that a highly rated U.S. youth product is making an impact there. Rokas Pukštas of Hajduk Split is on fire at the moment. He has scored in each of his last two games and is dominating in a No. 10 role for his side.

It has been a tricky season for Hajduk, who have not quite kept pace with Dinamo Zagreb. But they remain firmly in the picture for European football next year. The challenge now is maintaining that pace, and Pukstas will be key to that effort. In fairness, the 21-year-old may simply be playing for his next move. If he gets the next couple of weeks right, he could be in line for a big transfer this summer. That would move him closer to the USMNT picture. Get the job done against NK Lokomotiva, and things will look a little better.

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