GOAL sat down with the midfielder to talk about World Cup memories, his aspirations and where he needs to improve

LOS ANGELES – Last summer, during a rare break from his career, U.S. international Yunus Musah made a return trip to Qatar. It was something he felt compelled to do. The best moments of his life had happened there during the 2022 World Cup, and he wanted to relive them – or at least savor them from a new perspective. At the time, it had all been a whirlwind. Coming back gave him a chance to reconnect with those memories and finally appreciate what they meant.

He stayed at the same hotel where he and his teammates had lived for weeks, hoping to recapture some of that magic. He walked the same hallways, sat in the same courtyards. Of course, he knew it wouldn’t be the same – no games to play, no rush of adrenaline to relive. But that wasn’t the point. Musah just wanted to feel as much of it as he could one more time.

"Everything was like a throwback," Musah says to GOAL, smiling ear to ear as he reflected on his second-best stay in Qatar. "The smell! I could smell it again. Everywhere smells so nice. The room, the view. I would just walk around and it felt like I was experiencing all of those moments from the World Cup all over again. It felt good.

"For me personally, the World Cup was the best experience ever. I loved it so much."

It was at that World Cup where, at just 19 years old, Musah went toe-to-toe with the world's best. Just days before his 20th birthday, Musah found himself wrestling England's best under the bright lights of Al-Bayt Stadium. There, he was facing the country he grew up in with the whole world watching.

He never looked out of place. In fact, Musah and the U.S. men's national team midfield outplayed their English counterparts, a star-studded group that included Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice. Something few could have predicted before it actually happened. Still, just a teenager, Musah had achieved his dreams and, in many ways, they were better than he could have imagined.

That's why he found himself feeling the need to go back to Qatar. It's also why that trip back likely helped him move past it a bit. That's the funny thing about achieving your dreams at 19: they don't go away. Dream chasing isn't always linear. Neither is progress.

The Musah that is approachingthe 2025 CONCACAF Nations League semifinals is a very different one than the one that lived those moments in Qatar. He's at AC Milan now, still learning to cope with the pressures that come from playing at a club of that size. He's come out of his shell a little bit as a result, starting to shed the "shy and quiet" labels that followed him for his first few years with the USMNT.

He's a father now, too, having just welcomed a baby girl a few weeks back. That will certainly impact his perspective, to put it lightly. That type of life change makes anyone think about the future a little bit more.

For Musah, this is all just getting started, and that applies to both life and his career. Even if many outside of his circle don't always realize it, he's far from a finished product. Still just 22, American soccer fans have, in some ways, got a chance to watch Musah grow up, even if his time as part of it has gone so quickly.

Now, though, with a new World Cup, a new dream, just over a year away, Musah is coming out of his shell, on and off the field, and his ability to do so will help define this current generation of American soccer.

"At one point, I was the young player with the most minutes in Europe," he says. "Having that opportunity, you make so many mistakes in a game that are costly. You learn from all of these experiences at such a young age. They helped. They helped shape me. They helped me handle these pressures. I have so much experience already in my few years and I'm grateful because it's definitely going to help me in the future."

Ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals, GOAL sat down with Musah to talk about his journey, what he needs to do to get better, and why he's now starting to become just a little bit more comfortable with everything thrown his way.

Getty Images SportMusah's arrival

It's been almost exactly four years since Musah officially committed to the USMNT. He'd joined the U.S. for the first time in late 2020, but reports at the time said England were still in the mix. In March of 2021, it became official: Musah had committed to the USMNT. It was a pivotal moment for the U.S. program, one that would ultimately give them a key piece of their World Cup team just a year and a half later.

"It sounds like a lot of years, but it's all happened so quickly," Musah says. "So much has happened in four years."

The World Cup in Qatar is the big one, of course. There have been multiple Nations League trophies in there, too. The move to Milan, the Copa America, a U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year award mixed in – it feels like American soccer has known Musah for a while. Yet, it's really only been just a few years. He's earned 45 caps during that time. Given his age, it's safe to assume he'll be among the most capped USMNT players in the program's history if everything keeps moving in the same direction it has.

"We knew that when he came in and was making the decision of which country he'd represent that he'd be an amazing addition to the team," said midfield partner Tyler Adams, who helped form the MMA [McKennie, Musah, and Adams] unit that defined the 2022 World Cup cycle. "He's not only an unbelievably talented player but a great person in the changing room as well. He's grown so much over the years since we first started playing together. You can see with this transition to Milan, a well-deserved move, that he's continuing to grow, too."

Upon Musah's arrival all those years ago, the first thing that struck him was how quickly he struck up friendships within the USMNT group. It was something that, in hindsight, he'd been doing all of his life. His childhood had taken him from New York to Italy to England. His club career took him to Spain with Valencia, too. For much of his life, Musah has been put in situations where he had to make friends quickly. He always found it easier to do so when the ball was at his feet.

"It felt like second nature, I guess," Musah said. "I had to do that a lot. I had to do it all the time, really. Coming into the team, not knowing anyone, I think maybe just knowing Gio [Reyna] from playing against him, but when you're open to new friendships, you manage to do it. At the end of the day, with football especially, it's easier to become friendly once you get on a pitch."

Still, all talk about Musah's demeanor generally has included the same descriptions: shy, quiet, reserved, calm. But the 22-year-old midfielder is beginning to open up, bit by bit.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportBreaking out his shell

There's been a common theme from those around the USMNT when it comes to Musah. "Yeah, he's pretty quiet, but once you get to know him, you see the real Yunus."

That version of him hasn't come out particularly often throughout his first few years with the national team. During media availabilities, he often doesn't say much, if anything at all. His answers are direct, and to the point. Everything is quick, everything is positive, and nothing makes waves or headlines.

Musah is still far from someone to rock the boat. He's nowhere near as boisterous as say Weston McKennie, the third member of that MMA midfield. During a USMNT media call on Tuesday, a bulk of the questions were largely directed at Adams, leaving Musah as a passenger for so long that Adams picked up a microphone and stuck it in his face. to remind journalists that he was open to questions, too.

But Musah admits he's starting to feel more comfortable with all of this. He's starting to feel a little bit more confident when it comes to being himself.

"I think, just being in the game for longer, knowing how it all works, it makes you feel more comfortable," Musah says. "Just as a person, now I'm… less shy, I guess? I've done so many interviews and talked to so many people now, this is all becoming second nature now.

"For sure, though. I can say for sure I've changed."

By nature, though, Musah is still a private person. He doesn't go out much. In fact, he hardly goes out at all. His big hobby? Managing business and financial opportunities he's been working on. When he isn't at home with family, he's at training. And if he's not there, he's at the mosque every Friday. Fatherhood has helped him focus even more on family, too, as he adjusts to his new role.

"I'm very blessed to have my family now," he says. "I'm just happy, man. Just happy. That's all I can say. I'm enjoying the moment and I'm still being me, but this is just another beautiful thing in my life."

Not everything is perfect, though. Musah is still feeling the pressures of playing at one of the world's most prestigious clubs and, because of those pressures, he often finds himself in the crosshairs at Milan.

Getty ImagesMore pressure in Italy

Musah knew exactly what he was signing up for at Milan. He'd gotten a taste of it as a youth player at Arsenal. He got more experience dealing with it during his time with Valencia. But life at San Siro is different and, nearly two full seasons into his Milan career, Musah is still learning to deal with the pressures.

Since making the move to Serie A, Musah has been a frequent contributor to Again, still just 22, he's made 75 total appearances for Milan, including 16 in European competitions. At an age where many players are just starting to become first-team contributors, Musah has now been a regular at two big clubs in two top leagues. It's an impressive resume, no doubt.

This season in particular, though, has been a rollercoaster. Manager Paulo Fonseca arrived in the summer and was gone by December. His replacement, Sergio Conceicao, immediately led Milan to a Supercoppa Italiana trophy before things took a downward turn. In recent weeks, Milan have been eliminated from the Champions League at the hands of Feyenoord and tumbled down the Serie A table as they now fight to claw their way back into the race for European spots.

Musah has drawn criticism for his part in it all. A red card against Dinamo Zagreb, fortunately, didn't prove costly at the time but was still a rough moment for the midfielder. What was most frustrating was how avoidable it was: he picked up two yellow cards in a matter of minutes to earn his marching orders. It was a low. He's been OK since, but some familiar themes remain, namely his inability to get his name on the scoresheet.

Most players say they don't hear the criticism. Musah admits he does. It's just no longer quite as loud as it used to be.

"Being at Milan, you expect to have this pressure," he says. "It's a privilege because, at the end of the day, if I wasn't a professional footballer, I wouldn't experience this stuff. You have to take the positives as well and then, when people are criticizing you, saying bad stuff about you, I've found so much of that during my career that it doesn't phase me at all now. At the beginning, you see it and you listen to it. Then afterward, you just see it and it still gets inside. You get better at ignoring the comments, but you still see them. It gets inside you."

He adds, "Because people have been seeing me play for longer, I'm getting less slack. They're not as patient anymore. When you've been in the game for longer, you need to be better. I understand that. I understand that, for sure."

Getty Images SportSetting up (and scoring) goals

In October, facing off with the same Panama team that the U.S. faces on Thursday, Musah finally had his big moment. In cap No. 42, the first of the Pochettino era, Musah finally scored a goal.

The outpouring of joy was immediate. As Musah screamed into the Austin sky, his teammates chased after him. First on the scene was Christian Pulisic, his running mate for club and country. Pulisic later joked that Musah must have been studying his own film to finally get that goal. Deep down, though, it was a moment of pride, not just for Musah but for longtime teammates like Pulisic, who finally got to be a part of his big moment.

"It felt like all of those goals that I'd missed, I didn't remember one of them," Musah said, thinking back on the moment that goal hit the back of the net. "It overshadowed all of that, you know? It was so meaningful for me. I didn't remember anything that happened before. I still just love that moment so much. It's just joy. Absolute joy."

Musah isn't a goalscorer. It's one of the big criticisms that still come his way. They're justified. When he arrived on the scene, the scouting report depicted him as an incredible dribbler, one that would only reach the highest levels of the game if he could develop something else on either side of the ball. Could he add goals and assists to his game? Could he develop better defensive instincts? Both? Developing something would be the difference between good and great or, perhaps, the difference between great and elite.

So far, Musah hasn't quite taken that leap. According to FB Ref, when compared to midfielders, Musah is in the 99th percentile of progressive carries, 96th percentile of take-ons, and 82nd percentile in touches in the opposing penalty area. He's also a decent passer of the ball at 86 percent. Defensively, though, Musah is nowhere near the best in his league and his lack of goals and assists have started to become talking point at Milan.

Just this past week, a Musah sequence against Como went viral on social media. After rounding the goalkeeper, Musah was seemingly caught in two minds. As a result, his shot/pass across goal was neither on target nor near the feet of his teammates, who were rushing in for a tap-in. It was another moment of frustration, and Musah understands it most of all.

Of all the players in Serie A, only three have a higher amount of expected goals without actually having one. That stat tells two stories. The first says that Musah needs to be more clinical in dangerous moments. The second says that this is a guy who would really benefit from a confidence booster or, perhaps, a little bit of luck.

"I just need to have some more composure because, in training, I can finish, I can score goals, I can do all of that," he says. "It's just in the games, I put this pressure on myself because I haven't scored in so long. When I get to that situation, it's been really tough for me to have that composure. I need to work on being able to focus. I'm working on it! God-willing, I'm going to get those goals, don't worry.

"I just try to improve parts of my game day to day with the things that are missing. Obviously, in the final third, I need to get goals and assists. I definitely think with work, it will come."