Former and aspiring USMNT stars have taken to the MLS spotlight for the duration of this ongoing international break, with half of the USMNT's current roster coming from the league and its 30 clubs.
Does it mean that such players have made a valuable impact that earns them a potential November call-up? Let's take a look at a few cases from the last round of MLS play.
Philadelphia Union gets big boost from USMNT non-call-ups and hopefuls
By now, it's apparent that the Philadelphia Union's resurgence is no joke. But while said resurgence has brought them from being Wooden Spoon favorites to being a borderline playoff team, it's pushed them beyond that point and then some. Now, they're likely the team that nobody wants to face in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
Their latest victory, a 4-2 decision against Orlando City, pushed them six points clear of the Wild Card spots and nine points above 10th-place D.C. United. It also shortened the gap between the Union and second-place New England to seven points, and they still have to contest a head-to-head matchup in mid-October. While the absence of Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield, and Neil Pierre created a challenge for the team heading into a matchup with Antoine Griezmann's Orlando City, they were still able to find plenty of scoring and secure the win.
Said scoring came from two USMNT hopefuls/ex-participants. Milan Iloski recorded a hat trick against Orlando City, with the first two goals coming in the space of eight minutes, while Indiana Vasillev scored the Union's third goal of the night. While the latter was previously called up to the USMNT, both were ranked among the top 50 USMNT players at this moment by ESPN. Iloski was ranked just behind Cole Campbell, who was selected by Pochettino, while Vassilev was placed just ahead of longtime USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Speaking of Matt Turner ...
He didn't exactly spend time on Saturday justifying why his exclusion from the USMNT was seen as a shock rather than a justified decision. Against Salt Lake City, Turner conceded three goals while making three saves. That's not exactly a metric that Turner wants to record after being left off the USMNT lineup, and it's not one that will earn his spot back for November's Nations League quarterfinals.
In all fairness to Turner, it wasn't exactly a great weekend for former USMNT goalkeepers. FC Cincinnati/one-time USMNT keeper Roman Celentano also conceded three goals in what was a 3-1 loss against CF Montreal.
Chance for further opportunities?
It's clear that Iloski and Vassilev made their case for USMNT inclusion in November. But there will be further instances during this international window for aspiring and past USMNT call-ups to put together a strong performance.
Case in point: St. Louis City. With Damion Downs earning a last-minute call-up in place of Ricardo Pepi, the likes of Daniel Edelman and Christopher Durkin will have the opportunity to make their case on Wednesday when St. Louis City travels to face Red Bull New York.
That match will act as an opportunity for the club to gain further ground in a significantly reshuffled Western Conference, one that has seen LAFC and Houston Dynamo lose ground to the likes of San Jose and FC Dallas. In fact, St. Louis City will have an opportunity themselves to shake things up further during their two-game homestand against the eighth-place LA Galaxy and the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps; both Edelman and Durkin will have to treat this as an opportunity to play a big role in meaningful late-season games.
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