GOAL sat down with the winger to discuss his life in Belgium, his recent breakout and, of course, the big question: what's next?
There’s no shortage of storylines in Griffin Yow’s Belgian journey.
There was the “package deal,” as he calls it, that brought him to often-overlooked Westerlo — not one of Belgium’s traditional powers — to join close friend Bryan Reynolds. There was a year spent developing with the youth teams. Then came the breakout: a surge that earned him a spot at the Olympics, a recent flurry of goals putting him on radars on both sides of the Atlantic, and Westerlo suddenly dreaming of an unlikely European run.
That's not where this particular story is starting, though. This one is starting with a tale that Yow can't help but laugh about now. It starts with a garbage problem.
Chalk it up to growing pains or the complexities of moving to Europe on your own. The Yow who arrived in Belgium as a teenager might not have been fully ready for everything that came with it. That included, perhaps most of all, garbage day. He did things "the American way," as he says, failing to realize the nuance of trash takeaway in Belgium. It led to multiple fines and a bit of panic. He gave up after a while, stacking trash in his basement until the smell got so bad that he finally had to reckon with his decisions.
"I tried to do the whole European system!" he protests now with a laugh. "I put it outside where all the other bags were, and I got fined! Not the right color, not the right bag, not the right can."
It wasn't the only challenge in Westerlo. Yow struggled with life without Uber Eats and, admittedly, had to figure out how to do every household chore imaginable. The new version looks back on it all and laughs. He's grown up a bit since. He's an Olympian now and, in some ways, he's the Belgian league's breakout star, scoring goal after goal to prove that fact every week. Thanks to a run of five goals in his last seven games, transfer rumors are swirling, and call-ups to the U.S. men's national team have never felt closer. The 22-year-old has Westerlo pushing for a Europa Conference League spot, too, which is something that, for those who follow the club, usually feels so far away.
This version of Yow may be short-lived, though. The Clifton, VA native feels the world shifting around him. It's been shifting, in truth, for the past year. Upon his arrival at Westerlo, Yow felt he had disappeared a bit from the eyes of American soccer. Now, he feels he's resurfacing. A flurry of goals will do that for a player.
Goals, ultimately, lead to change. Yow's not fully sure what's next for him, but he's excited to, at some point, have an answer for everyone's favorite question: what's next?
"What will my next move be?" he wonders. "What can I do next? Where will I be playing? Will I be here with Westerlo? Will I be there or wherever else? What's the next national team event that I can start to work towards? There are a lot of things coming up in my life that I'm very excited to show myself, or are going to make changes for me in my life."
"I'm just excited to see," he says before pausing. "Yeah, I'm excited to see what's next."
As Yow and Westerlo push for their Conference League dream, the winger sat down with GOAL to discuss his goals, transfer rumors and his USMNT dream.
AFPLife in Belgium
"They call it a village here, you know."
Welcome to life at Westerlo, the area Yow has called home since he decided to leave his real home behind. Yow grew up around D.C. and, at one point, was one of D.C. United's top prospects. Feeling like he needed a pathway towards more, he packed his bags and joined Reynolds at Westerlo in that "package deal", moving his life and his dreams to a municipality with a population of just 25,288. Westerlo weren't a major European club, but they were willing to give Yow and Reynolds a chance when they needed them most. Yow thinks about that now more than ever.
In Westerlo, Yow lives the quiet life. His fiancée has joined him at his apartment, so that has helped with the dinner scheduling. Grocery stores close early, and there are only a handful of restaurants in the city, which means everyone seems to know everyone, including the local soccer team's most in-form player. After several years in the village, he's being recognized now, and for good reason.
Over the last seven matches, Yow has netted five of his eight goals this season, helping Westerlo's quest for the Conference League. The Belgian league is broken up into playoff systems, ones that Yow can admit even confused him upon his arrival. This season, Westerlo has earned a spot in the Conference League Playoff, where they sit four points behind Charleroi with three games remaining. The two teams face off this weekend. Westerlo, who have qualified for Europe just four times in club history and just once in the last 21 years, still have a chance.
It's largely thanks to Yow, who has taken "the leap" this season. After scoring seven goals last season, his first full campaign with the Westerlo first team after a year with the U-21s, Yow is now up to eight goals this season, many of which have come at crucial times. It's not just the goals, either. According to FBRef, Yow is in the 83rd percentile in successful take-ons, while his defensive effort has him in the 99th percentile in tackles and 96th percentile in clearances when compared to other wingers in Europe's top 14 leagues. Yow is doing a little bit of everything, but those goals are winning games, and they're coming in bunches.
"It just feels like I've been playing in my backyard," Yow says of his surge. "It's just having fun. I think that's a lot of it, but there's also a routine side to it of just doing the right things. You go to sleep at the right time. I'm very religious, so I'm always praying. It's a mixture of all of that, a little bit of luck, and just feeling good, feeling hot. It all comes together and, all of a sudden, it feels like you're scoring goals week after week."
The reason he went to Belgium in the first place is that the league is known as one of the best for young players. There's a reason so many stars have emerged as part of Belgium's Golden Generation on the international stage. Many started on home soil when they were Yow's age. Teams like Club Brugge, Anderlecht, Genk, and Standard Liege are regulars in European competitio,n but the rest of the league is good enough that even the smaller clubs like Westerlo aren't afraid of them.
"It's similar to MLS, in a way, and not in playing style or level or anything," he says. "I think it's a higher level, but it's similar in the sense that any team can beat any team on any given day. You have a feeling, yeah, when you play against teams in the Champions League or Europa League, but, at the same time, we can go put up a good game against any of these guys."
Yow has had a lot of good games recently, but his most important one came a little over a year ago when, after several years out of the spotlight, Yow leaped back into the eyes of American soccer.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesAn Olympic mentality shift
At one point, Yow was a key part of the U.S. U-17s, earning his place next to future USMNT stars Gio Reyna, Ricardo Pepi, Joe Scally and Gianluca Busio as part of the 2019 World Cup team. Then there was the disappearance. While those four went on to bigger moments, Yow faded and disappeared, going five years without representing his country on any level.
That's why his goal against France last spring felt like such a life-changing one. That's why, over a year later, he's still so eager to talk about it.
"There was a time when I was even doubting it myself," he says. "There was a time when I wouldn't have had that confidence in myself…That was definitely the moment where I was able to go, 'Okay, I'm starting to make waves. I'm starting to make steps'. I had to keep it rolling, though. I had to keep it going."
Down two goals to France late in a pre-Olympic friendly, Yow and Cade Cowell came off the bench to score against Thierry Henry's loaded France team. Just days after a multi-assist game against Guinea, that goal cemented Yow's place and, ultimately, a late surge to the Olympics despite being left out for most of the cycle.
"I was able to score that goal and then everything changed," he says. "I'm starting, and then, all of a sudden, I'm on the roster. This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen. It probably wasn't the way it was meant to happen, but in football, things can change. It's about timing and performing and a whole list of other things combined."
Yow, as he said, made the Olympic roster, putting him into one of the world's biggest shop windows at the premier U-23 tournament. He, like teammate Patrick Schulte, loved the camaraderie: the Clash Royale support, the Uno games, the moments with the boys. He also loved the challenge, namely the chance to face the world's best.
In the USMNT's Round of 16 defeat to Morocco, Yow was matched up against Achraf Hakimi, the PSG superstar widely seen as one of the top fullbacks in the game today. That matchup was largely one-sided, Yow admits, as he struggled to do much of anything against Morocco's star. He did beat him once, though, and that put a thought in Yow's head: if he can get past Hakimi, even if it was just this once, why couldn't he get past anyone else?
"There are times when you play a defender and go, 'Okay, this guy is fast,' but Hakimi was fast at another level," he recalls. "Moving, playing passes, everything – all at the next level. At the same time, it didn't feel that it was impossible for me. There was a moment in the midfield when I got the ball and he tried to press me on my back, and I just turned him and went forward. That made me realize that there are certain moments where I can get him, even though he is in that class or that league ahead of everyone else."
Yow isn't the only one noticing those moments, whether they be the small ones against Hakimi or the big goals for Westerlo.
AFPTransfer attention
Since the Olympics, Yow has been on the radar of clubs all over Europe. GOAL confirmed in January that there was interest from Champions League-level teams while GiveMeSport recently reported that Westerlo are looking to extend Yow's deal amid interest from the Championship, the Eredivisie and other clubs in Belgium. Yow's future is somewhat uncertain.
He knows it, too. Many players would shy away from transfer rumors – Yow, instead, looks to put them in perspective.
"I'm someone who is always striving for more," he says. "I don't just accept that this is my level. I feel good here, yes. I'm comfortable here, for sure, but I'm also someone who wants to reach the next step and challenge myself. My goal is to play in the Champions League, to play in the World Cup, and to face these top-tier teams in the world. If a better situation comes, then yes, there would be no doubt in my mind, but it has to be a better situation. I'm ready for the next step, for sure, but it has to be the right one."
The decision, whenever it's put on Yow's plate, will be a big one. He's found a home with Westerlo and is grateful for all the club gave him. Yow has watched on as friends at other clubs weren't given the time or patience needed to develop. Westerlo has provided exactly that in the moments Yow needed it most. That's why Yow knows, if he does decide to leave, he has to leave for a club willing to give him even more than Westerlo has.
"They just gave me room to adjust to everything," he says. "They gave me the opportunity to improve and show myself in training. When I played well with the U-21s, they didn't keep me down there, and they didn't bring in someone else. I'm so appreciative that they gave me the time I needed to grow up, but also the platform and opportunity to show myself and become the player I am today."
The player he is today isn't the player he wants to be tomorrow, though, because the player he is today hasn't yet had the opportunity he thinks about most.
AFPUSMNT dreams
Of the 20 players that comprised the U.S. Olympic squad in France last summer, just three haven't earned a senior cap. Yow is one of those three.
"I'm someone who thinks about that quite often," Yow said of the USMNT. "At the same time, I'm not devastated if I don't get invited. It's all about timing. It's not like I sit there and say 'This is bullsh*t'. It's not keeping me up at night, but, yeah, I am happy to be back in that mix."
Timing has often been wrong for him. During his time in MLS, the teenage version of Yow wasn't deemed ready for a January camp, and rightfully so, probably. It then took him some time to really break through and grow at Westerlo. He was invited to January camp last year, but wasn't able to attend due to an untimely injury. Again, bad timing.
Yow feels he's getting closer, though. He was named to the USMNT's preliminary squad for the CONCACAF Nations League, which indicates that Mauricio Pochettino is aware of his progress with Westerlo. For Yow, that was a sign that he might just get there if he can keep pushing.
"To be on that list or to have staff reaching out to me, reaching out to my agent, getting emails for the preliminary roster, it just feels good," Yow says. "At the end of the day, I have high goals for the national team. The World Cup is still a ways away, and I know that I'm not on that roster yet, but that's the end goal. I think anything can happen over this next year, and that's kind of what I'm pushing towards."
There are plenty of examples of late runs to a World Cup squad. DeAndre Yedlin famously went from January camp to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in a matter of months. Haji Wright and Joe Scally had just six caps between them before arriving in Qatar. Edson Buddle, at age 29, earned two of his 11 career caps in South Africa after seven years without an appearance.
It all goes to show that anything is possible, and that's what keeps Yow going. It's possible that he lifts Westerlo into Europe. It's possible he's on the move this summer. It's possible that USMNT dream is inching closer and, even if it doesn't arrive quickly, Yow has faith that it will arrive.
As he heads towards what feels like a turning point, Yow is thinking about all of the big questions. He, too, is wondering. He prays often and, in these moments, he can look at what he's done and what's on the way. What comes next? What challenges are ahead? How can he move closer to the goals he sets for himself? Before that, though, there's still that one pesky question he needs to answer once a week: what am I going to do with the damn garbage this time?
"Even aside from the trash, it's just been everything off the field that has helped me grow up," he said. "On the field, I've put myself in a good position with my performances and, with the way the last two seasons have gone, I'm excited for what's next. It's not enough to be excited or comfortable, though. I still need to show myself, to perform, to do all of these things. One side of me is looking forward to what's next, but the other side is grounding myself. I still have a lot of work to do, and I still need to get on the field and show it.
"I trust the player and I know the player that I am, I have faith that I'm a top player, but it takes another level to make sure that someone else will believe in that as well."
