FEATURE | How are Ligue 1’s American contigent faring ahead of the World Cup? | OneFootball

We are just one year away from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will see North American giants Mexico, Canada and the United States co-host the biggest tournament in sport. Whilst there’s still plenty of time left before the competition kicks off, there’s reason to believe that several Ligue 1 players will be playing a key role for the USA in the World Cup. Today, we’re taking a look at Ligue 1’s American players.

Tanner Tessmann, Olympique Lyonnais

From Weston McKennie to Ricardo Pepi, FC Dallas’ academy has helped to produce a treasure trove of promising American players, and yet another who’s making his mark in the European game is Tanner Tessmann. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Tessmann joined Dallas’ youth ranks in 2016 and quickly rose up the ranks, eventually committing to play both college soccer and college football, as a kicker, with Clemson University. However, in February 2020, he elected to skip university and instead focus on staking out a first-team spot in MLS. 17 months later, Tessmann made the move across the Atlantic and joined newly promoted Serie A side Venezia.

Although he wasn’t able to keep the Venetians afloat in Italy’s top-flight, he nevertheless emerged as a valuable impact player with 20 league appearances, almost all of which saw him come off the bench. Tessmann bided his time as an impact player before solidifying a starting spot in December 2022 and cemented his status as both a regular starter as well as a regular source of goals: having failed to provide a single goal contribution in his first 51 senior appearances between 2019/20 and 2021/22, Tessmann racked up three goals and two assists in 34 appearances in 2022/23 before taking his game up a notch with seven goals and three assists in 42 appearances in 2023/24. None were more important than his goal on May 24, 2024, where he opened the scoring in a 2-1 win and 3-1 aggregate victory vs. Palermo in the promotion playoffs, before edging Cremonese 1-0 in the final.

But whilst Tessmann was there for Venezia’s post-match festivities, he wasn’t there for their return to Serie A: instead, he took his talents to Ligue 1 side Lyon, who paid a reported €6m for his services. Tessmann balanced his opening months in France between making brief cameos off the bench or remaining as an unused substitute for the full 90. However, after a dismal run of form that saw them collect two points from four, newly appointed manager Paulo Fonseca decided to hand him the start in a 4-0 victory vs. Reims on February 9th. He hasn’t looked back since, emerging as a pivotal defensive midfielder for Les Gones and upstaging Nemanja Matić in the midfield rotation, as well as leading them within inches of the UEFA Europa League semifinals.

At 23 years of age, the future is brighter than ever for the right-footed prospect. Combining a superb passing range with a robust physique and wise decision-making, Tessmann is just as good at unlocking a deep block with a timed through ball over the top as he is at muscling his opponent off the ball without ever giving the referee any reason to foul him. With Maxence Caqueret now plying his trade at Como, Tessmann has been given the licence to administer proceedings as the club’s deep-lying midfield playmaker, leading the team in accurate long balls per 90 (3.4) in Ligue 1 with a 67.6% accuracy rate. With Alexandre Lacazette and Rayan Cherki heading for the exit door, he’s set to become even more of a protagonist for Les Gones next season.

Folarin Balogun, AS Monaco

It was just two years ago that Folarin Balogun took French football by storm with an astonishing 21 goals in 37 appearances on loan for Ligue 1 outfit Stade de Reims. Having failed to make the step up from Arsenal’s Hale End academy to the first team, and having struggled to make an impression on loan at Middlesbrough, it seemed that Balogun’s moment had finally arrived. Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents but raised in London, Balogun sent USA fans into delirium when, on the back of his breakout 2022/23 campaign, he filed a one-time switch from England to the USA. In contrast to Tessmann, who has logged just eight appearances (four in friendlies) with the USMNT, Balogun has staked his claim as the USA’s starting No.9 with five goals and four assists in 17 appearances, including two goals at last summer’s Copa América.

Balogun’s stellar displays at Reims convinced Monaco to sign him on a permanent deal for €30m. He did reasonably well in his debut campaign in the principality with eight goals and seven assists in 32 appearances, although perhaps the biggest headlines from his season came in his first start for the club when he missed two penalties in a 1-0 defeat to Nice. His 2024/25 season was curtailed with physical issues; after scoring in three straight matches vs. Le Havre, Montpellier and Rennes, Balogun suffered a shoulder injury which kept him out for two months. He returned on December 1 and played 68 minutes in a 2-1 defeat to Marseille; ultimately, however, it seemed to be a case of rushing him back from injury sooner than he’d have liked. With Balogun’s shoulder still giving him trouble, he remained isolated from the pitch for another three months before returning to the fold and making a handful of substitute appearances and then scoring on his first start back from injury in a 3-1 victory vs. Saint-Ètienne.

Unfortunately for Balogun, however, he was unable to participate in Monaco’s final two matches vs. Lyon and Lens after damaging his ankle, ending the campaign with four goals in just over 700 minutes of play. The 23-year-old striker has missed out on the last three international windows due to injury, and he finds himself at risk of following in the footsteps of Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby and Mitchell van der Gaag, amongst the countless players who have been deprived of vital minutes in their formative stages due to successive injuries. He’ll be looking to put those injuries aside and get back to basics at Monaco in order to push for a starting spot in next year’s FIFA World Cup.

Both of the USA’s main No.9 options are currently second-choice at their clubs: whilst Ricardo Pepi contributed 11 goals in 18 appearances to help PSV Eindhoven steal the Eredivisie title from Ajax’s grasp, he remains behind Luuk de Jong in the pecking order, whilst Balogun has been eclipsed by Mika Biereth, who racked up 13 goals in 16 Ligue 1 matches after joining midseason from Sturm Graz. However, even if he doesn’t manage to find a starting spot next season, Balogun’s mix of incisive runs into the box, aggressive counter-pressing, and dynamic finishing skills should put Monaco in good stead as they return to the UEFA Champions League.

Mark McKenzie, Toulouse FC

The United States has struggled to find a reliable central defensive duo over the past decade, but they may just have found the right partnership in Chris Richards and Mark McKenzie. Whereas Richards helped Crystal Palace win their first-ever major trophy with a win against Manchester City in the FA Cup Final, McKenzie has proven essential in Toulouse’s fortuitous defence.

Born in the Bronx, McKenzie developed at the Philadelphia Union’s academy and spent a year at Wake Forest University before deciding to put all his eggs into one basket and earning a nomination for the 2018 MLS Rookie of the Year. A natural-born leader who holds his own in one-on-one duels and aerial battles, McKenzie is also measured in possession and is adroit at switching the play and filtering passes into the final third. It’s these intangible qualities that saw him nominated for the 2020 MLS Defender of the Year before joining Genk, where he won the 2020/21 Belgian Cup and emerged as a vital cog in defence, eventually earning a €3 million move to Toulouse in the summer of 2024.

Les Violets looked set for a tumultuous campaign after losing three defensive pillars in Logan Costa, Christian Mawissa and Anthony Rouault, not to mention top scorer Thijs Dallinga. And yet, they went from 11th to 10th and conceded three fewer goals in 2024/25 than in the previous season, with McKenzie proving essential thanks to his athleticism and shrewd possession play. He made 30 league appearances, playing the full 90 in nearly all of them, and at 26 years of age, he is yet another American centre back who is making a name for himself in recent months alongside Cameron Carter-Vickers, Lucas Bartlett, and George Campbell.

“McKenzie arrived at the start of the season as somewhat of an unknown,” LesViolets.com told us. “But he has gained momentum and gone from strength to strength as time has gone on and has made Toulouse supporters appreciate him enormously. As a left-sided centre back in a 3-4-3, he isn’t yet a captain, but he is a starter who plays week in week out and who, despite not making much noise, is very solid and accepts his responsibilities.”

GFFN | Zach Lowy