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Joe Scally, Malik Tillman and Cole Campbell are among the several US players to star in the Bundesliga this term.
Joe Scally, Malik Tillman and Cole Campbell are among the several US players to star in the Bundesliga this term. - © Bundesliga
Joe Scally, Malik Tillman and Cole Campbell are among the several US players to star in the Bundesliga this term. - © Bundesliga
bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga

American soccer players in Germany: The 2026/27 edition

A healthy number of American nationals are currently on the books of soccer teams in Germany, including USMNT regulars Malik Tillman and Joe Scally, plus talented youngsters like Cole Campbell and Mathis Albert. Find out how they are faring during the 2026/27 Bundesliga campaign...

Malik Tillman

Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: Midfield
Age: 24 (born May 28, 2002)
Games played: 2
Starts: 2

Last season:

Bayern Munich academy graduate, Tillman scored six goals in 29 appearances over the course of his first Bundesliga season at Leverkusen, before representing his country at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Last Matchday:

Tillman started and played 67 minutes as Leverkusen thrashed Union Berlin 4-0 in their first home Bundesliga outing of the campaign on Matchday 2.

Joe Scally

Club: Borussia Mönchengladbach
Position: Full-back
Age: 23 (born December 31, 2002)
Games played: 2
Starts: 1

Last season:

Scally has been a regular at Gladbach for several seasons now and was a virtual ever-present during the 2025/26 campaign. The US World Cup representative registered two goals and three assists in 32 matches.

Last matchday:

Scally started and even scored Gladbach's third of the afternoon, but it wasn't enough as new boys Elversberg fought back to win 4-3 at Borussia-Park on Matchday 2.

Cole Campbell
Club: Elversberg
Position: Forward
Age: 20 (born February 20, 2006)
Games played: 2
Starts: 2

Last season:

After being loaned out by Borussia Dortmund for the second half of the season, Campbell made five substitute appearances for Hoffenheim in an injury-riddled spell. The young forward also played once for the BVB first team earlier in the campaign.

Last matchday: 

Campbell started once again for Elversberg on their trip to Gladbach and was withdrawn after the 65th minute to be replaced by Maurice Krattenmacher, whose brace won the day for the Saarlanders.

Cole Campbell scored his first Bundesliga goal in Elversberg's suprise win over Leverkusen.
Cole Campbell scored his first Bundesliga goal in Elversberg's suprise win over Leverkusen. - Bundesliga/Getty Images/Christian Kaspar-Bartke

Noahkai Banks
Club: Augsburg
Position: Defender
Age: 19 (born December 1, 2006)
Games played: 2
Starts: 2

Last season:

Honolulu-born Banks enjoyed a breakout 2025/26. He was a regular in defence between Matchdays 6-25, but fell out of starting favour towards the end of the season.

Last matchday:

Banks played the full 90 minutes as Augsburg downed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-1 on the road to go top of the table after Matchday 2.

Noakhai Banks made 20 starts for Augsburg in 2025/26.
Noakhai Banks made 20 starts for Augsburg in 2025/26. - Sebastian Widmann

Santiago Castaneda
Club: Paderborn
Position: Midfielder
Age: 21 (born November 13, 2004)
Games played: 2
Starts: 2

Last season:

Castaneda was an integral part of Paderborn's promotion push last term, making 31 total appearances in Bundesliga 2 in 2025/26, before playing every minute across both legs of Paderborn's play-off victory over Wolfsburg.

Last matchday:

Castaneda played the full 90 minutes as Paderborn suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Freiburg in their first home Bundesliga game in six years.

Santiago Castaneda made his Bundesliga debut against Mainz on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 season.
Santiago Castaneda made his Bundesliga debut against Mainz on Matchday 1 of the 2026/27 season. - IMAGO/Stephan Hahne

Lennard Maloney
Club: Mainz
Position: Midfielder
Age: 26 (born October 8, 1999)
Games played: 1
Starts: 0

Last season:

Maloney was largely used as a second-half substitute in 2025/26, a role he played as Mainz confirmed his former team Heidenheim's relegation to the second tier on Matchday 34.

Last Matchday:

Maloney came off the bench in the 88th minute as Mainz demolished Hamburg 5-0 at the Volksparkstadion.

Lennard Maloney made four Bundesliga starts for mid-table Mainz over the 2025/26 season.
Lennard Maloney made four Bundesliga starts for mid-table Mainz over the 2025/26 season. - IMAGO/Steven Mohr

Mathis Albert
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Position: Forward
Age: 17 (born May 21, 2009)
Games played: 0
Starts: 0

Last season:

Aged 16, Albert made his Bundesliga debut last season - a two-minute cameo in the 4-0 victory over Freiburg on Matchday 31. The youngster has been tipped to appear more frequently for Die Schwarzgelben this term.

Last Matchday:

Albert was an unused substitute as Dortmund came back from 2-0 down to defeat Hoffenheim 3-2 away on Matchday 2.

Albert played the entirety of Dortmund's 5-0 victory over HEBC Hamburg in the first round of the DFB Cup.
Albert played the entirety of Dortmund's 5-0 victory over HEBC Hamburg in the first round of the DFB Cup. - IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto/Marcel von Fehrn

Timothy Chandler
Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
Position: Full-back
Age: 36 (born March 29, 1990)
Games played: 1
Starts: 0

Last season:

Chandler made a late cameo on Matchday 34 of his 12th season with Frankfurt. The veteran full-back has made 200 appearances for the club.

Last matchday:

Chandler came off the bench in the 69th minute of Frankfurt's 4-1 home defeat to Augsburg on Matchday 2 to make his 200th career appearance in all competitions for Die Adler.

Timothy Chandler has been on the books of Frankfurt - the city of his birth - since July 2014.
Timothy Chandler has been on the books of Frankfurt - the city of his birth - since July 2014. - DFL

Montrell Culbreath
Club: Bayer Leverkusen
Position: Right winger
Age: 19 (born August 29, 2007)
Games played: 0
Starts: 0

Last season:

A German-American dual national, Culbreath started nine of Leverkusen's last 11 league games of the season. The teenager famously scored a debut goal in Leipzig just before Christmas.

Last matchday:

Culbreath was once again unavailable for Leverkusen in their victory over Union as the youngster continues to nurse a foot injury.

Americans in Bundesliga 2

Jonathan Gómez (VfL Osnabrück)
John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel)
Grayson Dettoni (Darmstadt)
Isaiah Young (Arminia Bielefeld)
Ryan Malone (Energie Cottbus)

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