Top 5 games this weekend: Tracking U.S. stars in Germany, England, France and Italy

With MLS now on break, the American players in Europe will now have the sole spotlight for the next two months. This comes as the races begin to take shape in the various leagues for titles, European spots, promotion, and relegation. For the USMNT, every week seems to potentially change the depth chart as players compete to make their case to Mauricio Pochettino to be part of the World Cup plans. 

When looking at all factors, here are the top five games to watch or follow this weekend from an American perspective.

1. Venezia vs. Monza (Serie B 🇮🇹)
• Gianluca Busio
Saturday, Dec. 13, 9 am ET 📺 Fox One, Fox Soccer Plus

Gianluca Busio is now in his fifth season at Venezia FC. He joined the Venice-based club shortly after winning the 2021 Gold Cup with the U.S. national team on a then-record transfer paid by Venezia. 

Gianluca Busio. (Imago via ZUMA Press/ISI Photos)

Since arriving in Italy, Venezia has been a “yo-yo” club bouncing between Serie A and Serie B and this year the club is in a promotion race. Saturday’s match is a big one as 4th-place Venezia hosts 2nd place Monza with five points separating the teams. A win would put Venezia back on the cusp of the automatic promotion places. 

It is easy to lose track of Busio this season. He is in the second tier and is not in Pochettino’s plans for the World Cup as central midfield is among the most crowded areas in the player pool. 

But Busio is progressing nicely and he is playing well. This marks his first season as Venezia’s captain and unlike previous seasons, he is the unquestionable leader in a promotion race. On Nov. 8, Busio scored in a win over Sampdoria and that began one of the strongest months of Busio’s time in Italy. Since then, Busio has led Venezia to 10 points from its last four games. On Saturday, they host a good Monza team that has stumbled recently with two straight draws. 

Busio has a lot of experience for a 23-year-old and will be entering his prime years next cycle building toward the 2030 World Cup.

2. St. Pauli vs. Heidenheim (Bundesliga 🇩🇪)
• James Sands
Saturday, Dec. 13, 9:30 am ET 📺 ESPN+

“It’s getting late early” is a famous, paradoxical quote from New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra. But he refers to when things are progressing quickly, time is running short, and there is a sense of urgency even when it feels early. 

That’s the case with James Sands, who went on loan from New York City to St. Pauli in January, suffered a serious and season-ending ankle injury after just five games, and later extended his loan through the current 2025/26 Bundesliga.

At first, all was going great in his return from injury in preseason. He was playing well and St. Pauli was winning to start the season. But things changed quickly for the worse. Since St. Pauli’s 2-1 win over Augsburg on Sept. 14, the Hamburg-based club lost its next nine Bundesliga games. That skid was snapped last weekend with a 1-1 draw against Cologne. But with just one point from its last 10 games, St. Pauli now sits second-to-last in 17th place. 

During this collapse, Sands has not been one of the team’s problems, but he has not been a solution either. 

Normally December is too early for relegation drama, but Saturday’s game for St. Pauli is critical as they host 16th-place Heidenheim. If ever there was a time for St. Pauli to stop a free-fall, this would be it. Heidenheim was picked by many pundits be relegated this season. 

For Sands, it is also about his personal future. He has said that he wants to remain in Europe. But the odds of St. Pauli being able to complete a full transfer for Sands are slim if the club is relegated. Sands would then have to hope his performances for St. Pauli entice another club to buy him.

The Bundesliga season is not even at its halfway point, but Sands is under a lot of pressure to help St. Pauli both reverse a collapse and avoid relegation, but also to secure his own future in Europe. It is getting late early, and this game against Heidenheim will tell us a lot.