After impressive US debut: Pochettino hails BVB talent | OneFootball

After his debut for the USA, BVB talent Mathis Albert can look forward to high praise. National team coach Mauricio Pochettino is particularly impressed by the 17-year-old’s attitude.

Mathis Albert has not been able to get much playing time at Borussia Dortmund under coach Niko Kovac in recent weeks. With the US national team, however, the 17-year-old needed only a few moments to make an impression. In his debut against Peru, Albert was directly involved in a key moment and later received special praise from national team coach Mauricio Pochettino.

When Albert came on after just over an hour, everything was still open at 1-1. The Dortmund player immediately looked to go forward — and succeeded. During one of his first attacking runs, he could only be stopped in the penalty area by a foul. Malik Tillman converted the resulting penalty to put the USA on the path to victory. In the end, it was a clear 4-1 win.

The fact that the BVB youngster needed no time at all to settle into the game on his debut also impressed Pochettino. “His first action on the pitch? Boom — aggressive. Control the ball and immediately go forward,” the US national team coach said after the match.

BVB talent Mathis Albert shines in US debut

The Argentine still sees room for development in his young attacking player. However, Albert’s attitude seems to have particularly convinced him. “I want to get out there, I want to play, I want to show myself. That’s what we need, and that’s why I’m happy.”

Photo: IMAGO

The appearance was likely especially valuable for Albert because his opportunities in Dortmund had recently been limited. In the DFB-Pokal against Hamburg-based HEBC (5-0), the winger was allowed to play the full match and made a strong case for more opportunities. After that, however, he still had to wait for additional minutes with the BVB senior team.

Albert is from Greenville in the US state of South Carolina and has been part of Dortmund’s youth setup since 2024. He has since also made the step up to the professional level. In addition to American citizenship, the youngster also holds German and French citizenship. However, his debut does not yet permanently tie Albert to the USA: because the match against Peru was only a friendly, a later switch of national association would still in principle be possible.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.