Weston McKennie

Weston James Earl McKennie (born August 28, 1998) is an American soccer player who plays as a midfielder for German club Schalke 04 and the United States national team.

Weston McKennie
McKennie with the United States at the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
Personal information
Full name Weston James Earl McKennie[1]
Date of birth (1998-08-28) August 28, 1998
Place of birth Little Elm, Texas, United States[2]
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Schalke 04
Number 2
Youth career
2009–2016 FC Dallas
2016–2017 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2017– Schalke 04 75 (4)
National team‡
2013–2014 United States U17 6 (0)
2016 United States U19 9 (2)
2016 United States U20 2 (0)
2017– United States 19 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 29, 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of November 19, 2019

Youth

Weston McKennie grew up in Texas but spent 3 years in Kaiserslautern, Germany between the ages of 6 and 9 and started playing soccer for the local club FC Phönix Otterbach in 2004 before moving back to the United States.[3]

In February 2016, McKennie signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the University of Virginia,[4] but he subsequently turned down the scholarship offer to play for the Cavaliers, and instead sought to go pro.[5]

Professional career

In July 2016 McKennie rejected the chance to sign a Homegrown Player contract with FC Dallas.[6] He joined German Bundesliga side FC Schalke 04 in August 2016.[7]

After spending less than a year with Schalke's academy team, McKennie was promoted to the first-team squad in May 2017.[8] He made his professional debut on May 20, 2017, as a 77th-minute substitute during a 1–1 draw with FC Ingolstadt 04.[9] This was his only appearance during the 2016–17 season.[10] McKennie made his first start in September 2017 and signed a five-year contract shortly after.[11] He finished the 2017–18 season with 25 appearances in all competitions.[12]

International career

McKennie has played with various United States youth teams, including the under-17 and under-20 national teams. McKennie earned his first senior team callup for the United States' friendly against Portugal on November 14, 2017, scoring on his debut.[13][14]

McKennie's first international assist occurred in the opening game of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Guyana at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

McKennie scored the lone goal for the U.S. on June 30, 2019 to help them secure a 1-0 win in the Gold Cup quarterfinals against Curaçao.

McKennie notched his second goal of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup against Jamaica in the 19th minute.

On October 12, 2019, McKennie scored the fastest hat-trick in the U.S. men's national team's history, scoring three goals in thirteen minutes in a CONCACAF Nations League game against Cuba.[15]

Career statistics

Club
McKennie with Schalke 04 in 2018
As of match played on June 29, 2020.[16]
ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schalke 042016–17Bundesliga10000010
2017–1822030—250
2018–19241306[lower-alpha 1]1332
2019–2028340—323
Career total 75410061915
  1. Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International
As of November 19, 2019[17]
United States
YearAppsGoals
201711
201860
2019125
202000
Total196

International goals

Scores and results list the United States' goal tally first.

No.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1November 14, 2017Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, Leiria, Portugal1 Portugal1–01–1Friendly
2June 30, 2019Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, United States12 Curaçao1–01–02019 CONCACAF Gold Cup
3July 3, 2019Nissan Stadium, Nashville, United States13 Jamaica1–03–1
4October 11, 2019Audi Field, Washington, D.C., United States16 Cuba1–07–02019–20 CONCACAF Nations League A
52–0
64–0

Honors

International
United States[17]

Personal life

McKennie is a critic of American president Donald Trump, saying that Trump can be called a racist and is not fit to be president. McKennie made these comments in 2020 after the Death of George Floyd.[18]

gollark: What, not statewise?
gollark: Like most of these things.
gollark: Arbitrarily ages ago I assume.
gollark: Like wealth, say. Do you want to go around rebalancing votes depending on income? This would be bad.
gollark: Besides, there are arguably more important divisions nowadays than geographical location.

References
  1. "40-Player National Team Roster: 2019 Concacaf Gold Cup: United States" (PDF). CONCACAF. p. 16. Retrieved May 21, 2019 – via Bernews.
  2. "U.S. prospect Weston McKennie is living his dream in Germany". ESPN FC / Howler Magazine.
  3. Uerfsfeld, Stephan (April 4, 2017). "Schalke's Weston McKennie dreaming of following Christian Pulisic's path". ESPN FC. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. "Virginia Welcomes 10 Student-Athletes for 2016-17". Virginia Cavaliers men's soccer. University of Virginia. February 26, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  5. Straus, Brian (November 10, 2017). "Schalke's Weston McKennie Copes With Missed World Cup, Eyes Bright US Future". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. Stejskal, Sam. "Dallas trying to sign US U-20 Weston McKennie, say he hasn't joined Schalke". MLS. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  7. Joseph, Brendan. "Weston McKennie signs with FC Schalke". Stars and Stripes. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
  8. "Schalke promote American duo McKennie and Wright to senior squad". bundesliga.com.
  9. "Ingolstadt vs. Schalke 04 – 20 May 2017 – Soccerway". uk.soccerway.com.
  10. "Weston McKennie". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  11. "Schalke tie U.S. youngster Weston McKennie to new five-year deal".
  12. "Weston McKennie". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  13. "USA's new era starts with draw against European champions Portugal". theguardian.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  14. "Weston McKennie man of the match as U.S. earn draw in Portugal". espnfc.com. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  15. sport, Guardian; agencies (October 12, 2019). "Weston McKennie scores record hat-trick as USA hammer seven past Cuba". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  16. "Weston McKennie » Club matches". WorldFootball.net.
  17. "USA - W. McKennie - Profile with news, career statistics and history". Soccerway. Retrieved June 2, 2018.
  18. Uersfeld, Stephan (June 10, 2020). "Schalke and USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie: Trump not right for job of U.S. president". ESPN FC. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
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