Siebatcheu closes season with another goal

Theoson-Jordan Siebatcheu recently closed out a successful club season with yet another goal in Stade de Reims’ season-concluding 2-2 draw with Nîmes Olympique at the Stade Auguste-Delaune II.

The 6’3” striker put his team ahead in the 62^nd minute. He received a centering pass from Pablo Chavarria, made an agile turn, and slotted the ball home.

(Highlight starts at 2:33, it’s either a really nice goal or I’m an easily impressed simpleton.)

Siebatcheu finished the season with 17 goals, good for second in the league; he also tallied seven assists. Reims closed a historic season in Domino’s League 2, gleaning 88 points from 38 matches, running away with the title, and returning to the top division. The Grand Est-based club was relegated in 2016 after a four-year long tenure in Ligue 1.

Unfortunately, all of this probably means very little to you unless Siebatcheu chooses to play for the USMNT in the future.

During a recent interview on J+1, Siebatcheu indicated to host Julien Cazarre that he is interested in playing for the French national team (he is eligible for France, Cameroon, and the USMNT).

Of course, he has yet to be called in by Les Bleus, but this could be viewed as a minor setback for a USMNT that is in need of an infusion of young talent. Some dual-nationals are harder to convince than others, and Siebatcheu has lived in France for most of his life, joining Reims at the age of seven. The allure of playing for a World Cup-winning country is hard to pass up, but there’s always a chance he ends up playing for the USMNT down the road.

An optimist would point to a previous interview during which he expressed mild interest in joining the USMNT. Unfortunately, with no World Cup this summer and little meaningful soccer be played for a while, optimism and hope for the future is all American soccer fans have right now.