Can he do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke? USMNT's Jack McGlynn is proving he can

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — Jack McGlynn is well aware of cold, rainy nights in Stoke. “I’ve felt it now,” he said, laughing. “There have been one or two cold ones. I’m hearing it might get worse.” The 23-year-old American midfielder has heard right. It is, after all, only November. It can be hard playing in Stoke, which sits in England’s West Midlands, between Manchester and Birmingham, and absorbs the brunt of weather patterns blowing off the Irish Sea. There is a famous soccer idiom questioning whether highly skilled players accustomed to prime conditions can cut it in harsh environments like Staffordshire. Hence the cynical expression: “But can he do it on a cold, rainy night in Stoke?” Under all circumstances, McGlynn is doing just fine — brilliantly even — since moving to second-flight Stoke City from Major League Soccer’s Houston Dynamo just before the summer transfer window closed. In 11 appearances, the Queens, New York, native has recorded five goals and two assists. He has scored in three consecutive matches — a run of success that earned a last-minute U.S. national team call-up after Gio Reyna withdrew with an injury . McGlynn joined the 25-man squad preparing for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti on Saturday in Miami and next Tuesday in Cincinnati. Jack McGlynn missed the World Cup and fell out of the USMNT picture. Now he's scoring spectacular goals in England, winning over Stoke City fans and getting another chance to prove himself. Steve Bardens via Getty Images Few U.S. players are in better form than McGlynn, who has won over Stoke City supporters with performances that have lifted the club to level on points with Birmingham City and Middlesbrough atop the English Championship. Enjoying an 8-1-2 surge since McGlynn joined the lineup, the Potters are positioning themselves for a Premier League return following relegation more than eight years ago. Since their fall, they haven’t finished higher than 15th. This season did not start well either. “When I got there … I looked at the standings and I was like, ‘Oh dear, what's happening?’” he told Yahoo Sports on Monday.  Before McGlynn’s signing, the Potters opened the campaign with three losses by a 9-3 margin. “I watched them win their first match and I was like, ‘OK, we have got something now. We could turn it around,’” he said. “It’s been a great run of results since, and I’m just really happy to be there.” Stoke City is not the most glamorous destination in Europe, but for a young player fulfilling his boyhood dream of playing in England, it has suited him well. Supporters have embraced both him and his nationality, chanting his name and “USA, USA!” after his goals — some of which have come on outrageous finishes. He has company: Luca Bombino, a 20-year-old left back, arrived from San Diego FC at the same time. “It makes me smile every time I hear it,” said McGlynn, whose father emigrated from Ireland. “It's something you dream about as a kid, where you’re playing in England and fans will chant your name. Stuff of dreams, really.” Playing primarily on the right wing, McGlynn has endeared himself with moments like the one late in the first half last Tuesday at Blackburn Rovers. Standing over a free kick about 30 yards out and to the side, he noticed goalkeeper Balazs Toth drifting out in anticipation of service deep into the box. So McGlynn targeted the goal instead, directing the ball behind Toth, who desperately leapt back to get his hands on it but couldn’t prevent the opening goal. The AUDACITY from Jack McGlynn to go for that and also pull it off…👏😮‍💨 What a player we have on our hands. 🦅🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/QaiG9pML3i — george (@StokeyyG2) November 3, 2026 “He’s the only player on the pitch for us who might attempt something like that,” coach Mark Robins told BBC Radio. “I did wonder if he might try it, but to execute that was phenomenal.” McGlynn followed that with another goal Saturday in a 2-1 victory at Portsmouth. Afterward, Stoke City players boarded the bus and awaited the long ride home. While the delegation waited for a few stragglers, McGlynn said the staff told the players, “‘You have a couple days off.’ I was getting ready to relax and get the body right because obviously we had a tough week” with three matches in eight days. Sporting director Jon Walters then messaged him. U.S. officials had called. They needed him in camp right away. One problem: His cleats were packed away in the gear going to another location in Stoke. “I ran back to the dressing room to get them,” McGlynn said. “I was like, ‘Oh, I need them.’” McGlynn, McGlynn’s boots and the rest of the team returned to Stoke. He was then off to nearby Manchester for hastily arranged flights to Amsterdam, then Atlanta for the start of U.S. camp. McGlynn has 13 caps and two goals but hasn’t been in U.S. camp since September 2025 for friendlies against South Korea and Japan. On the World Cup roster bubble, his outlook dimmed after suffering injuries in the fall and spring. He watched the World Cup on TV. “Missing out was tough,” he said. “I played through an injury for two months before [the team was selected], and that time off in the summer definitely helped me get fresh, get healthy and flip my mindset to, ‘I've got to make the next one now. I've got to get back in the squad.’” As he settled into his new club in England, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino chose other young players for the September-October camp that produced a four-game sweep. After watching those friendlies, he said he came away thinking, “It just seems like a new hunger and ambition with youthful energy. You kind of feed off that. Great results, great performances last camp. So hopefully that continues in this one.” For this camp, Pochettino retained most of that roster. But when Reyna went down Friday, McGlynn stepped up. “It was a lot,” he said of the whirlwind weekend, “but I’m very happy to be back with the group.” And when it’s over, he’ll gladly return to Stoke for the promotion race and all the cold, wind and gray that comes the city’s way.