Pedro Guimaraes is a 17-year-old Brazilian-American inverted fullback for Orange County SC and the United States U-17 national team. The left footer who can play on either flank appeared 27 times in the USL Championship last season, providing 2 goals and an assist. He also has 14 caps, including 3 in November’s World Cup.
Guimaraes sports a slender frame and is above average height for his position at 1.78 m. He is pretty mobile, having quality short-area quickness and recovery speed, able to easily turn and track back in time from advanced positions. He plays with lots of intensity and stamina to sustain his heavy buildup involvement, varied attacking runs, and recoveries throughout entire matches. What is especially impressive is his ability to do so at both senior club and U-17 international levels. His aerial timing is precise while being technically sound in duels, though he must improve the strength of his frame. Guimaraes is only just strong enough to hold off opponents at youth international level and can be outmuscled easily by stronger senior attackers. His physical presence needs development to play comfortably at a higher senior level, but his other athletic traits will do him well.
Guimaraes is highly technical inverting in possession, with excellent scanning on the half turn and elite ground passing range. He can switch play across the middle channel and break lines up the half spaces with soft, receivable weight into his targets’ strides. He is calm and decisive progressing the ball out from the back, even when pressured, being very effective in one or two touch combination play, whether in the buildup or final third. His comfort on ball is in drawing pressure in before to create angles to release creatively to teammates. Guimaraes’ decision-making and ball releases under pressure are rapid. His underlaps help create for himself off-ball, developing complex relationships with wingers. In terms of chance creation, he is capable of assisting and pre-assisting from outside the final third due to his through ball and line-breaking ability. His end product when creating has room for improvement regarding accuracy and timing, though. He also has a small goal threat at the end of counters when crashing the box. To take advantage, Guimaraes must arrive into the final third more often, especially at the back post. He manages the game well, going for retentive actions when needed, only progressing when he finds or opens space. His crosses are inconsistent, with the timing and weight of them being off when delivering it early or on the run.
Out of possession, Guimaraes displays strong anticipation both from rest defence and on recoveries. He shows it with his risk evaluation and timing when stepping up from his line to intercept or tackle during counters. He also does so from his resting shape, reading the opposition attack well and disrupting play in the middle third. His excellent recovery pace and physical restraint allow him to defend from behind without fouling. From rest defence, he is a disciplined 1v1 defender who contains rather than lunging in, able to cut off passing lanes inside and delay for help from recovery runs. He is most comfortable defending from a narrow back line in a low block. Though his athleticism and instincts make Guimaraes a mostly reliable defender at current level, he does have a few weaknesses. His closeouts can lack initiative, which allows too much space for a cross. On the flip side, he can also overpursue closing out into 1v1s out wide, getting beaten by attackers cutting inside. His propensity to contain makes him passive, and he often relies on actions in recovery to disrupt if he can. Guimaraes also has lapses in marking at both the near and back posts, which led directly to goals conceded. He must work on his communication and organizing his defensive line.
Guimaraes has a rumored move to Eintracht Frankfurt on a senior contract to continue his development. Based on his USL Championship and U-17 World Cup performances, I think this will only improve an already sky-high potential. His attacking strengths and athleticism combine for a profile that could develop into a useful player for possession-based clubs in high-intensity leagues. That said, Eintracht would be an advantageous landing spot due to the play style in the Bundesliga. La Liga would suit him well in the future, too.
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