Five Americans and two Canadians learned where their clubs were drawn for the upcoming UEFA Champions League group stage on Thursday, with USMNT stalwart Fabian Johnson and his club, Borussia Monchengladbach, earning a spot in the tournament’s “Group of Death.”
‘Gladbach was drawn into Group C with powerhouses Barcelona and Manchester City and Scottish Premier League champions Celtic. It’s the toughest group any North American will have to face in the Champions League, though a couple of others won’t have easy roads to the knockout rounds, either.
American Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund were drawn into Group F with defending champions Real Madrid, as well as Portuguese giants Sporting Club and Polish side Legia Warsaw. Tottenham Hotspur youngster and US U-20 international Cameron Carter-Vickers will also face a bit of a tricky draw, as Spurs were placed into Group E with CSKA Moscow, Bayer Leverkusen and Monaco.
Julian Green and his club, Bayern Munich will be heavy favorites -- along with Atletico Madrid -- to advance out of Group D, which also features Dutch club PSV Eindhoven and Russian side FC Rostov.
Meanwhile, Gedion Zelalem could very well end up being loaned out and likely won’t see much playing time if he stays with Arsenal. But the Gunners were drawn into Group A with Paris Saint-Germain, Swiss club FC Basel and Bulgarian side Ludogorets, and its Canadian goalkeeper, Milan Borjan.
Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson's Besiktas side were drawn into Group B, with Portugal's Benfica, Italy's Napoli and Ukraine's Dynamo Kyiv
The Champions League group stage will begin on Sept. 13. The full draw can be seen below:
