Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund have a track record of developing young American talent, with Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna the obvious examples. Potentially the next starlet in the pipeline is 17-year-old winger Mathis Albert.
Formerly of LA Galaxy, Albert joined Dortmund in 2024, going on to break Reyna’s record as the youngest ever American to make their Bundesliga debut in April 2026 at just 16 years and 340 days old.
In the latest U.S. Men’s National Team camp - their first since exiting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16 - Albert was one of 13 budding debutants called up by Mauricio Pochettino. The youngster wound up appearing in all four of their friendlies this past window, breaking Pulisic’s record as the youngest ever USMNT goal scorer at 17 years and 131 days old in their 4-2 win against Chile.
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Unfortunately for Albert, his record lasted a mere four days, with Philadelphia Union’s Cavan Sullivan setting the new benchmark in a 3-0 win against Mexico at 17 years and 5 days old.
Now back in Germany, Albert was an unused substitute in Dortmund’s 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen. But while the youngster may not have appeared for the side currently second in the Bundesliga, tied on 13 points with leaders SC Freiburg, his head coach, Niko Kovač, has high hopes for the American.
Asked about Albert’s limits moving forward, Kovač told the league’s website, “[There are] no restrictions.
“[He is] a very talented young man who is already showing really good signs in training, who has already played a cup game, and who sooner or later, probably sooner, will get a lot more minutes here at BVB than perhaps half a year ago.”
While named to the matchday squad for four of Dortmund’s five league games thus far, as well as their sole UEFA Champions League game, Albert has yet to make an appearance in either competition. He did, however, play the full 90 minutes in their 5-0 DFB-Pokal first-round win against HEBC Hamburg.
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He may not have made it into Dortmund’s latest game, but Albert still had plenty to be excited about when speaking with CBS Sports Golazo on Monday, reflecting on his recent experience with the USMNT.
“I've been with the national team since I went to camps when I was 13, 14, when I played at Galaxy,” he said. “So, I mean, I've been through every single team. U15, then I started playing up with the '08s, then 07s, and then senior team.
“So, I mean, I went through a lot of steps to get there, but I think it…it just means like everything for sure. You're playing for your country on the biggest stage. So, I mean, there's a lot there's a lot to come with that, but for me, I just wanted to feel comfortable and myself.
“I wasn't going to put so much pressure on myself to perform or to play right away. I kind of just played like myself and natural. I had my teammates like Adri [Mehmeti], Julian [Hall], and everybody…Cav. So, I played with all of them since I was young. So, that made it comfortable as well. So, just really, that was what brought a lot of confidence for me.”
Albert won’t have to wait long to build upon his USMNT resume, with Pochettino’s side set to reconvene in mid-November to take on Haiti in the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final double-header.