Future USMNT star Diego Kochen made his debut for Barcelona as the Liga giants suffered defeat to Club America in a bizarre mid-season friendly.

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• La Liga champions in action on American soil
• Youngsters given opportunity to impress
• Teenage goalkeeper among those to get minutes

• Table of Contents

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The reigning champions of Spain have reached their winter break and will not be back in competitive action until facing Las Palmas on January 4. As a result, Xavi’s side have been freed to pay a flying visit to the United States – with Liga MX title holders Club America taken on in Dallas, Texas.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Xavi’s side took the lead on two occasions in that contest, courtesy of Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu, but ultimately ended up on the wrong end of a 3-2 scoreline. It has been revealed that cash-strapped Barca were paid $5.5 million (£4m) for their one-off outing in the United States.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Frenkie de Jong, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Joao Cancelo and Oriol Romeu were among those to see game time for Barca, while 17-year-old Florida-born goalkeeper Kochen stepped off the bench to make his senior bow on home soil.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR KOCHEN?

  Kochen, who signed his first professional contract with Barcelona in 2022, has represented the U.S. at U17 level and will be hoping to force his way into contention for more first-team minutes at club level – allowing him to go on and represent the USMNT at some point in the not too distant future.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News