Christian Pulisic returns, Weston McKennie snubbed from USMNT squad; Champions League playoffs conclude

Hello! UEFA Champions League qualifiers wrap up on Wednesday ahead of Thursday's draw but even as the club game takes center stage, the U.S. men's national team are already gearing up for September's international break. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest.

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Wednesday, Aug. 27🇪🇺 UCL qualification: Qarabag vs. Ferencvaros 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇪🇺 UCL qualification: Benfica vs. Fenerbahce, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇪🇺 UCL qualification: Copenhagen vs. Basel, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇪🇺 UCL qualification: Club Brugge vs. Rangers, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Grimsby Town vs. Man United, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🇺🇸 Leagues Cup: Inter Miami vs. Orlando City, 8:30 p.m. ➡️ MLS Season Pass

Thursday, Aug. 28🇪🇺 UCL draw, 12 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

⚽ The Forward Line🇺🇸 USMNT player pool expansion project continues

U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is once again leaning on a group of lesser known talent, calling up a group of inexperienced players for September's friendlies against South Korea and Japan, a camp he describes as "the last opportunity to bring some new faces" with less than 300 days to go until the 2026 World Cup. Take a look at the roster below.

• Goalkeepers: Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena)
• Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Noahkai Banks (FC Augsburg), Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace)
• Midfielders: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)
• Forwards: Damion Downs (Southampton), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan) Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alex Zendejas (Club America)

Only seven players in the squad have 30-plus caps, while 11 members from this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup roster return and five could earn their first cap next month. September's friendlies will see Christian Pulisic's return after a summer of bickering between USMNT players past and present following the player's decision to opt out of the Gold Cup, a chapter Pochettino said was "behind us" with months to go until the World Cup on home soil. Sergino Dest is also poised to play his first match for the USMNT since recovering an ACL injury he sustained last year, while Josh Sargent is back in the mix after being left off the Gold Cup squad in a "football decision." Weston McKennie, meanwhile, headlines the list of mainstays who did not make the cut, something Pochettino described as being part of the spirit of player pool expansion.

• Pochettino: "For me, all the players are important. The individual situations are important, and to analyze and make the decisions and have a plan for them. We have a roster of 65 players that we're going to be assessing every week and it's for them to perform and for us to select the best players to make a roster with a good balance. We don't have much time because we started last October and it has been less than one year and I think for us it's important to get a chance to work with the players because we know what some players can provide and now is a chance for different players like Sebastian Berhalter or Luca de la Torre."

The USMNT will convene in New Jersey next week ahead of a friendly against South Korea on Sept. 6 at Sports Illustrated Stadium, followed by a friendly against Japan three days later at Columbus' Lower.com Field.

See How the Season Will Unfold

🔗 Midfield Link Play🇪🇺 Champions League qualifying comes to a close

The final round of UEFA Champions League qualification will wrap up on Wednesday, with eight teams competing for the last four spots in the competition in time for Thursday's league phase draw in Monaco. Here's a look at the first leg scores for the last incomplete ties on the qualification schedule.

• Ferencvaros 1, Qarabag 3
• Rangers 1, Club Brugge 3
• Fenerbahce 0, Benfica 0
• Basel 1, Copenhagen 1

These eight teams will take to the pitch after a dramatic day in Europe on Tuesday, when three first-time Champions League participants -- Norway's Bodo/Glimt, Cyprus' Pafos FC and Kazakhstan's Kairat-- all advanced, in some cases beating competition regulars to book their spots. Glimt's 5-0 first leg victory over Sturm Graz paved the way for a straightforward 6-2 aggregate win on Tuesday, while Pafos defeated Crvena zvezda 3-2 on aggregate thanks to an 89th minute goal from Jaja. Kairat, though, completed the lengthiest and most arduous path to the Champions League by taking Celtic to penalties after 210 minutes of goalless play over two legs, with goalkeeper Temirlan Anarbekov making three saves in the shootout. Kairat entered in the first round of qualification back at the start of July and are now the second-ever Kazakh team to make the Champions League after Astana did so in the 2015-16 season.

The headlining act of Wednesday's action will take place in Lisbon, where Benfica host Fenerbahce after a scoreless draw in Istanbul last week. Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho makes his return to Benfica, where he held his first managerial role in a brief spell almost exactly 25 years ago, but enters the match as the underdogs -- the Portuguese team are a Champions League regular while his side have not played in the competition in almost 20 years. It means Mourinho's pre-match reflections come with a hint of practicality, even if he is still willing and able to talk a big game.

• Mourinho: "This is where it all began. I've been back here with Manchester United. I've never lost here because my teams were better. My Porto were much better, Manchester United were better; in this case Benfica are a team with a greater power to mine. … Good build-up play, dangerous on the counterattack, with fast players who attack space. They're a good team. I'm not here to sugarcoat things and put Benfica on a pedestal that they don't deserve. Right now, my goal is to win."

🔗 Top Stories

🇺🇸 USMNT-ers on the move: After a busy summer for a handful of USMNT players, here's who has the most to gain as the competition for World Cup roster spots gets underway.

🔥 Can you feel the heat? Pressure is already on Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim, so much that an EFL League Cup match against Grimsby Town is crucial for them to win.

🇦🇷 A rising star: Argentina's next big talent may just be Nico Paz. But why in the world would Italian club Como reject $70 million for a player, but maybe sell him for $10 million?

🔴 Meet Rio Ngumoha: Liverpool have a new young star, and he's already making a ton of noise.

✨ NWSL Team of the Week: USWNT's Alyssa Thompson leads this week's best XI.

🔴 Liverpool's fun imbalance: Liverpool's attack-minded rebuild might make them a defensive liability, but their flair for the dramatic should be encouraged for the sake of entertainment.

💰 The Back Line💵 Best bets

• UEFA Champions League: 2025-26 winner💰 THE PICK: Liverpool to win the 2025-26 Champions League (+600) -- Paris Saint-Germain might be the oddsmakers' favorites but Liverpool are not far off and will definitely be a team to keep an eye on this season. Their attack-focused rebuild may leave them unbalanced but with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Hugo Ekitike around, they have what it takes to overpower most opponents in Europe and follow in the footsteps of PSG and Barcelona, who made deep runs in last season's Champions League on the back of offensive play.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.

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