Josh returned to training with the B-team at the start of May, but the only evidence of this was a now-deleted IG story post that was captured by one of the Serbenfiquista posters on May 9th: The only match report on Benfica's website from May (May 10th vs Belenenses) indicates that he was still "recovering", and none of the public match reports from Benfica B's last 2 matches mention him as a sub. Miserable first season in Lisbon... hope he's able to take some time over the next few weeks to mentally prepare and then come back ready to impress next season.
Friendlies update: Joshua Wnyder 🇺🇸 appeared for Benfica B 🇵🇹 today in their 2nd pre-season match as a sub in their 1-1 draw. He started in their 1st pre-season match, helping them get a clean sheet in their 1-0 win. Their next 2 matches will be on the 20th and 21st#USMNT #USYNT #LouCity pic.twitter.com/8NXwb3hYSF— Zach McCabe (@zjmccabe) July 17, 2024
Glad to see he's at least "friendly-fit"! Year 1 at Benfica starts now (don't look at the contract he signed).
Started another friendly for the B-team. Followup tweet indicates that his was a "sub-everyone at halftime" kinda pre-season friendly. O onze inicial do SL Benfica ‘B’ contra o Académico de Viseu FC: André Gomes, Leandro Santos, Lenny Lacroix, Joshua Wynder, Francisco Domingues, Nuno Félix, Diogo Prioste, Beni Souza, Gérson Sousa, Rodrigo Rêgo e José Melro. https://t.co/Z07fFgUSty— Information Glorious - SL Benfica (@InformGlorious2) July 20, 2024
Also, Josh was allegedly not released for the U20 WCQ tournament. I think this is a positive sign that Benfica still have plans for him this season: Players not available to coach Mike Nsien for U-20 WCQ:Esmir Bajraktarevic ('05)Noel Buck ('05)Benja Cremaschi ('05)Obed Vargas ('05)Reed Baker-Whiting ('05)Gavin Beavers ('05)Kristian Fletcher ('05)Josh Wynder ('05)Diego Kochen ('06)Noahkai Banks ('06)Matai Akinmboni…— USMNTProspects (@ProspectsUsmnt) July 12, 2024
Started in a friendly last week and scored his first goal for Benfica B: Benfica B had another friendly today. Joshua Wynder got the lone goal to help Benfica B get the win and clean sheet 🙌! 1-0 win over FC Alverca#USMNT #USYNT #LouCity pic.twitter.com/H1qaR7AncL— Zach McCabe (@zjmccabe) July 27, 2024
Also started in their last pre-season friendly 3 days ago. It was a 2-0 loss, but he seems to be a locked-in starter for Benfica B this year! Onze inicial do SL Benfica 'B': André Gomes, Leandro Santos, Joshua Wynder, Gustavo Marques, Tiago Parente, Nuno Félix, Diogo Prioste, Beni Souza, Kyanno Silva, Luan Farias e José Melro.Jogaram ainda: Paul Okon e João Veloso. https://t.co/sBYRIKFL10— Information Glorious - SL Benfica (@InformGlorious2) August 3, 2024 Benfica B starts their season in 2 days. Fingers crossed for a productive season for Josh
It’s my understanding that the aforementioned sports hernia caused a ton of issues not just to the groin area — legs and hips.It derailed a whole season. Benfica seems to really like him so I'm expecting a breakout year of sorts for him. Kid oozes talent. His older brother (21) Elijah is having a breakout season at Lou City. I’ve heard some rumors he might explore Europe after the season.
I was pretty high on him when he departed for Benfica... Too bad that injury hit his development so much but he is still young. The US could really use another young CB w/ MNT potential. I wish he was already in play for the A team... but if he solidifies himself for B early he could get first team minutes this season. <fingers-crossed>
Scored: 🇺🇸 Josh Wynder’s goal for Benfica B in their season opener 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/tGvzSUEuut— American Ultras Talk (@ameriultrastalk) August 10, 2024
They ended up losing 2-1, but the general consensus I can find is that Josh was a bright spot. Many in the Serbenfiquista forum had him as the best Benfica player on the field outside of the goal. Wild match, Benfica had 2 sending offs AND missed a penalty to tie.
One of the best players of the match day according to SofaScore: Sofascore released their Liga 2 week 1 TOTW. After struggling with injuries last season, Joshua Wynder made it on the list 🙌. Here are his stats from the season opener1 goal3 clearances2 block shots1 interception2 tackles87% passing2/5 long balls7/9 duels won#USMNT… pic.twitter.com/pmwUc4GOJA— Zach McCabe (@zjmccabe) August 15, 2024 Also, what a world we live in: SofaScore now has detailed stats for matches in Portugal's 2nd division!
Went 90' in a 2-0 win vs Torreense on Sunday. SofaScore gave him a 7.3, and his best stat was probably going 51/54 on all passes including being credited with one key pass. The benfiquistas who watched were very complimentary, with two posters calling him "special". So far so good for Josh!
Started and went 80' yesterday in a 1-0 win. No stats on SofaScore this time, but the benfiquistas are very complimentary of Josh yet again. On the other hand, there was also this exchange: edit: of course another poster quoted poster A and just said "Freddy Adu"... they're just like us.
Hugo Félix ➡️ Joshua Wynder ⚽️#sporttvportugal #LIGAnaSPORTTV #LigaPortugalMeuSuper #Feirense #SLBenficaB pic.twitter.com/E54lPVFiJz— sport tv (@sporttvportugal) September 1, 2024
Nice, thundering header. Wynder basically just dunked on someone. Seeing him in the celebration…. I swear he’s grown 2 inches and put on 15 lbs of muscle. Looks like an adult and not a skinny kid!
Benfica B won 3-2, looks like Wynder went the distance. Benfiquistas are still excited: "I appreciate this player more and more.. he is a great centerback project," says one user. On the senior team, there's probably gonna be an opening at CB next season: Otamendi is rumored to be leaving, and Morato (23 y.o CB who benched Jan Vertonghen last season) is about to sign for Forrest. Some fans think that Benfica will look to the market to fill that gap, but if Wynder has a good enough season...
Wasn't expecting to see him on the score sheet in 2/3 games. Always nice to have a goal dangerous CB.
Josh Wynder ('05) is set to sign a contract extension with Benfica 👀 https://t.co/etIgZ57td6— USMNT Report 🇺🇸🇹🇷 (@USMNTReport) September 15, 2024
Josh started on the bench and entered in the 59' in a 2-2 draw vs UD Oliveirense. SofaScore gave him a better rating than the guy he replaced, FWIW.
AHHHHH, okay, so the reason Josh didn't start was because the senior team dropped Adrian Bajrami down to get some fitness. On Twitter, one of the more popular fan accounts said: "I understand that Benfica should drop Bajrami, who has played very little and will play very little for the first team. But Joshua Wynder shouldn't be losing minutes because of that."