USMNT and Cincinnati forward Brandon Vazquez convinced he has to move to Europe to seal spot on World Cup 2026 roster

FC Cincinnati star Brandon Vazquez hopes to seal a transfer to Europe to boost his hopes of making the United States squad for the 2026 World Cup.

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• Striker performing well this season
• Left out of last two USMNT squads
• Feels transfer to Europe would help

• Table of Contents

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 25-year-old striker has impressed for Cincinnati this season, scoring 16 times in 35 matches in all competitions.

  Since making his USMNT debut in January, he has netted four across his eight appearances. He is by no means guaranteed a spot in the squad, however, having been left out by Gregg Berhalter for the friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman last month and again the upcoming matches against Germany and Ghana.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Nevertheless, his 2023 form has attracted interest from outside of MLS. Borussia Monchengladbach are said to be interested and sporting director Roland Virkus was reportedly in attendance to see watch him this year.

  While the San Diego native has his immediate attention on guiding Cincinnati to silverware this year, he may be on his way out of the club in the near future.

• WHAT THEY SAID

  He said on the Offside With Taylor Twellman podcast: "This career is short, and one of my goals has been to go to Europe, and I think if I want to make the 2026 World Cup roster, I think I have to be overseas competing with best leagues in the world."

  He added: "Cincinnati wants to win a championship, and I want to help Cincinnati win a championship. And [a transfer] not happening in the moment, it can be a little distracting. Of course I want it to happen eventually and hopefully it can happen this winter. I think that would be the perfect-case scenario for me: bring Cincinnati a championship and then make the jump overseas."

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  WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

  Vazquez will hope to further boost his chances of earning a transfer and impressing USMNT coach Berhalter by putting in another strong display in next Saturday's match against Atlanta United.