USMNT Players in the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership, 2.Bundesliga, 3.Liga, and Austrian Bundesliga
Scotland’s Premiership begins this weekend with nothing new in terms of scope for the defending champions. Cameron Carter-Vickers’s Celtic want to add a 55th league title while showing they belong in the revamped Champions League. As Scottish champions, that means automatic entry into what is now called the league phase as the tournament revamps for the 2024-25 edition.
Celtic adds Kasper Schmeichel this season, joining on a free transfer from Anderlecht and bringing with him years of experience. He replaces England international Joe Hart, who retired at the end of last season after 109 appearances and three Premiership titles with Celtic.
Carter-Vickers is an established center back for the Scottish champions, winning three league titles, two league cups, and two Scottish Cups. After pulling off the domestic triple in 2022-23, Celtic recorded another double last season with the league and the Scottish Cup. All told, Carter-Vickers has lifted seven league and cup trophies since joining Celtic in 2021-22 while establishing himself as one of the best central defenders in the league.
In 2023-24, Celtic finished with 93 points, eight ahead of Rangers and with a +65 goal difference to Rangers at +55. 3rd-place Hearts ended the season with 68 points and a +12 goal difference, an indication of the level of difficulty when it comes to the top two teams in Scotland. Matt O’Riley was Celtic’s top scorer last season with 18 goals, but he was second to Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland in the overall scoring table. Celtic’s Kyogo Furuhashi was tied for 7th overall with 14 goals. It’s worth pointing out that Kyogo is a forward and O’Riley is a midfielder, at least suggesting that manager Brendan Rodgers can get more production from an offense that put up that +65 goal difference last season.
How far Celtic can progress in Europe is once again a significant part of the story. The Champions League revamp means more games this season, with eight matchdays running from September 17 through January 25. Last season, Celtic exited the Champions League and European competition in the group stage, finishing 4th in group E. In the new setup, there are no longer groups. While we’ll have a full preview of what that means when the Champions League progresses through qualifying, it’s a different opportunity for Celtic this season.
Germany’s lower divisions also begin this weekend, with one USMNT player in the 2.Bundesliga. That’s Julian Green now a fixture at Furth. Green’s club finished 8th last season, two points behind 7th-place Hannover 96 and 6th-place Karlsruher. Furth’s 50 points had them 13 points out of 3rd and the promotion playoff spot. In the 2.Bundesliga, the top two teams win automatic promotion with 3rd-place playing in the promotion playoff against the club that finished 16th in the Bundesliga.
In the 3.Liga, Terrence Boyd’s SV Waldhof finished 16th, three points above the four relegation places. That sets a clear goal for the squad this season: staying out of a relegation fight.
Moving to the Austrian Bundesliga, George Bello’s LASK finished 3rd in the 22-game regular season and stayed there after the championship round. Like Belgium, the Austrian Bundesliga divides its season, cutting the regular season point totals in half to start the championship and relegation rounds that splits the 12-team league in half. That 3rd-place finish means LASK enters the Europa League in the playoff round.
Sebastian Soto’s Klagenfurt finished in 4th-place in the regular season, dropping to 6th after the championship round. That means missing out on European competition this season.
