Concacaf Spotlight: Weston McKennie Juventus | OneFootball

MIAMI. - United States men’s national team midfielder Weston McKennie continues to thrive at Serie A club Juventus and is one of the Concacaf stars in Europe.

McKennie, 26, became the first American to play for the historic Italian club after joining in summer 2020. In his fifth season with the Bianconeri, the Texas native has solidified his place in one of the most recognized clubs in the world.

Speed and game control are just some of the attributes that make Weston McKennie a versatile, all-around player — both at the club level and with the United States national team, where he has won the Concacaf Nations League three times and was named the Best Player of the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League.

Development in Germany

McKennie has spent most of his career in Europe, starting with Schalke 04's U-19 team, where he played 22 matches and scored four goals during the 2016-2017 season.

He made his Bundesliga debut while still eligible for the U-19 category, stepping onto the pitch at 18 years and 9 months on May 20, 2017, in Matchday 34 against FC Ingolstadt. He played 13 minutes, coming on as a substitute for Donis Avdijaj. For the 2017-2018 season, he was promoted to Schalke 04's first team, remaining until the 2019-2020 campaign.

During his time with the German club, he played 90 matches and scored four goals, including one against Lokomotiv Moscow in the UEFA Champions League group stage on October 3, 2018.

Venturing into Italy and England

In the 2020-2021 season, McKennie signed with Italian powerhouse Juventus FC. He helped the club to Coppa Italia titles in 2020-2021, 2023-2024, and the Supercoppa Italiana in 2020.

During his first stint with the Turin club, he made 96 appearances and scored 13 goals. His best season came in Serie A, where he featured in 34 matches, four in the Coppa Italia, seven in the Champions League, and one in the Italian Super Cup.

Across all competitions that season, he played 46 games and scored six goals—five in Serie A and one in the Champions League against FC Barcelona on December 8, 2020.

During the 2022-2023 season, he was loaned to Leeds United in England, where he played 20 matches—19 in the Premier League and one in the FA Cup—without scoring.

Coming home is always special, and McKennie returned to Juventus FC for the 2023-2024 season, where he remains active. Since rejoining the club, he has played 67 matches and scored five goals.

His best Champions League goal-scoring season is the current 2024-2025 campaign, in which he has netted three times in eight matches—against PSV on September 17, 2024, against Manchester City on November 5, 2024, and again against PSV on February 11, 2025.

In Serie A, he has played 19 matches, contributing two goals and three assists as of February 19, 2025. Including his time with Schalke 04’s U-19 squad in Germany, Weston McKennie has played a total of 295 matches, recording 27 goals and 30 assists.

A star for club and country

McKennie has made 58 appearances and scored 11 goals, as of February 19, 2025, at the senior level with the United States national team.

He made his international debut on November 11, 2017, in a (1-1) draw against Portugal at 19 years, 2 months, and 17 days old. It was a dream debut, as he found the net in his first match under head coach Dave Sarachan.

McKennie played a key role in the 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup, featuring in five matches and helping the U.S. reach the final, where they fell to Mexico.

In the Concacaf Nations League, he has played 16 matches, scoring six goals—including a crucial strike in the 2021 final against Mexico, which forced the game into extra time before the U.S. secured the title.

He also featured in all four matches for the U.S. at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where they reached the Round of 16 before being eliminated by the Netherlands. In 2024, McKennie played in all three matches of the Copa América, though the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage.

McKennie has been named to the preliminary list for the U.S. ahead of the 2025 CNL Finals. The Stars and Stripes will seek a record fourth CNL trophy. McKennie plans to feature in that journey as he was for the previous three titles (2019-2020, 2022-2023, 2023-2024), named the Concacaf Nations League Player of the Tournament for the 2019-2020 edition, and a member of the Concacaf Nations League Best XI in 2021, and 2024.