Making The Case: Yunus Musah For Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Male Player Of The Year
Twenty-Year-Old Midfielder Logged Most Minutes Ever for a Teenager on the USMNT and Earns Third-Straight Nomination
Serving as a key part of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s midfield during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Yunus Musah has been named a finalist for 2022 Chipotle U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year for the third-straight year.
For the second year in a row, fans will have the opportunity to vote on select Player of the Year Awards, with the fan vote comprising 15% of the total vote. Nominees for all awards are selected by U.S. Soccer’s technical staff. Voting for the awards starts Thursday, Dec. 15 at 11:00 a.m. ET and closes on Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. ET. The winners will be announced in the weeks that follow.
- VOTE NOW: Fan Voting for Player of the Year Awards
Let’s take a look at some of Musah’s highlights from 2022:
- The second-youngest player on the U.S. World Cup roster, the then 19-year-old Musah became the first teenager to start a World Cup match for the USMNT against Wales, while his start in the next contest against England made him the only teenager to appear in multiple World Cup games for the team.
- Turned 20 the day of the match against IR Iran, he set new USMNT highs for teenage players with 20 starts and 1,578 minutes played, while his 21 caps as a teenager equaled the previous mark set by Jozy Altidore and Christian Pulisic.
- Achieved career-highs with 12 appearances and exactly 1000 minutes played, the latter of which placed him second behind only Tyler Adams among USMNT midfielders in 2022.
- Started all four matches for the USA at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, featuring in 345 of a possible 360 minutes.
- Twice earned Man of the Match honors, in the massive 0-0 draw at Mexico in World Cup qualifying on March 24 and the 1-1 draw at El Salvador in Concacaf Nations League play on June 14.
- Registered 39 appearances and one goal and two assists across all competitions for Spanish La Liga side Valencia during the 2022 calendar year.
- Followed Sergiño Dest as the second U.S. international to appear in the Spanish Copa del Rey, coming off the bench in extra time before Valencia fell on penalty kicks to Real Betis.