One clash between Americans Abroad came to penalty kicks, and it was the youngest member of the U.S. Men’s National Team who helped his side get there.
Christian Pulisic and Borussia Dortmund came out on top on Wednesday afternoon, toppling John Brooks’ Hertha Berlin, 3-2, in penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw. While Pulisic saw his kick from the spot saved by Hertha Berlin keeper Rune Jarstein, he did assist Marco Reus on the equalizing goal, finding the star German for a 47th-minute equalizer to cancel out a Salomon Kalou opener.
Timmy Chandler’s clash was a bit more straight-forward as he too snagged an assist in a 2-1 win over Hannover. Chandler’s helper came on the equalizing goal in the 62nd minute, just before Frankfurt took the lead four minutes later to seal a quarterfinal berth.
As for Andrew Wooten, the American forward was able to find a moment of personal success amidst a tough afternoon for his team. Facing off with Bundesliga side Schalke, Sandhausen was crushed, 4-1, with Wooten scoring the game’s lone goal. The finish was Wooten’s eighth in 11 games as his side bows out of the German Cup.
Following Wednesday’s matches, Chandler joins Bobby Wood and Fabian Johnson in the tournement’s quarterfinal stage, which is set to be held on Feb. 28 and March 1.
Here’s a closer look at Wednesday’s Americans Abroad:
Christian Pulisic entered the match in the 45th minute and provided AN ASSIST in Borussia Dortmund’s penalty kick win over Hertha Berlin. John Brooks started and played all 90 minutes.
https://twitter.com/VinesBVB/status/829434456704434176
Timmy Chandler played 90 minutes and provided AN ASSIST in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-1 win over Hannover
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5b23qu_taleb-tawatha-goal-hd-hannover-1-1-eintracht-frankfurt-08-02-2017-hd_sport
Andrew Wooted played 90 minutes and scored A GOAL in Sandhausen’s 4-1 loss to Schalke.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5b1r7u
The commentators for the Dortmund-Hertha match mentioned several times that John Anthony Brooks was having a great game yesterday in the center of Herthas defense. Late in the match, when Dortmund took a short corner, they speculated that this was because Brooks was so dominant in the middle.
I think Brooks will be one of our best players for the next 8 years or so, but Dortmund takes a lot of short corners. Pulisic has even scored off of short corners before.
I didn’t get to watch the game, but glad that both brooks and pulisic seemed to play well!
I follow German soccer and French soccer because I used to live in both countries when I was younger. In a few post season reports., he was listed in the top-5 of CBs playing in the Bundesliga last year.
Americans with 2 goals and 3 assists from the Round of 16 of the Pokal, that’s 5 goals out of the 19 scored in this round than Americans were apart of. Americans also on four of the eight remaining clubs should make the next round fun as well.
Wooten’s starting to make a case for himself to get more call ups with the USMNT.
While i’m happy that Wooten is having success this season I’m not sure where he falls in regards to the Striker depth chart…especially considering the options that are emerging/re-emerging….
Jozy (27), Wood (25), Zardes (25), Morris (22), Dempsey (34), Green (21), ArJo (26), Boyd (26), Wooten (27), Agudelo (24), Rubin (20)
Granted 12 months ago we’d have been happy to have someone scoring as often as he has, but as more & more players return to playing meaningful minutes in equal or better leagues/teams he’s going to have to really stay on top of things to keep himself in consideration.
I’m not sure of Wooten’s desire to play for the US I believe he’s only been called in for one set of friendlies and played less than 20 minutes. I don’t think we ever heard about him again from JK and I don’t believe he was listed as someone Arena met with in his European trip. I think there is still plenty of room for another striker.
Zardes will probably continue to see time at the wing rather than true striker, Dempsey is questionable due to age and health
Morris is still limited technically,
Green is back playing as a wing for Stuttgart,
ArJo is still seeing limited time and hasn’t regained old form from before the injury,
Boyd has played very few matches at the level that Wooten has,
Agudelo is a peaks and valley guy that has never scored 10 goals in a season in MLS,
Rubin’s best pro season saw him score 3 goals in 28 appearances.
You also have Josh Gatt who looked good as a forward for Molde upon his return, but has been able to find a new club at least as far as I can see. We’ll also get to see some of the young guys coming up with U20 qualifying coming up and the U20WC, guys like Ebobisse, Lennon, Vazquez, and other Euro based players like Wright and Gaines.
I wouldn’t write off any of those guys you mentioned, because on top form any could push Jozy and Wood for the starting spot, but the forward pool is definitely wider than it was 12 months ago when Boyd, ArJo and Rubin were hurt but not necessarily deeper.
I think the way to look at this is by putting our current forwards into categories….
Jozy (27), Wood (25), Zardes (25), Morris (22), Dempsey (34), Green (21), ArJo (26), Boyd (26), Wooten (27), Agudelo (24), Rubin (20)
Power bruiser type – Jozy, Boyd, Agudelo (hybrid), I would put Wooten in this category.
Speedster – Morris, Wood
Not fast but can score with flair – Dempsey, Arjo, Rubin
Now, Bjorn Johnsen, he is a super hybrid, since his game partly fits in all three categories. He started in a new team and has 6 goals so far to Wooten’s 8.
I still dont see why some people dont see why Chandler is constantly fighting for a starting spot in our squad. Im not his biggest fan, and i dont see him as a starter, but he is good enough to compete with any other right defender we have.
Chandler is very good for his club, and putrid when he puts in the USA jersey. There’s no getting around it.
I would agree with this statement 8 months ago. Over the last year he has played much better in the USA jersey, although i still dont think he has played up to his potential, I think he was soooooo much better over the past year than he was in 2015. I even though he was outplaying Yedlin towards the end of 2016, being one of our best performers in a couple of the matches he started in.
I think a lot of people here pile on the bandwagon of hate, because after his best game he played last year (cant remember the exact game, but i remember the performance) there were still comments asking why he was even in camp.
If you are one of the people commenting that he has never had one good game, or contribution for the USMNT, you are wrong. And this is coming from someone who doesnt want to see him start, and is not really a fan of him.
Considering that Chandler has started almost every game for Frankfurt this year ( he only made 12 Bundesliga appearances for them last year vs. 16 already this year), he seems to be having a career year. Because I see him more now thanks to Fox Sports I can’t say for sure, but, based on what I have seen, he looks a lot better for his club team than in years past. I have certainly seen this in other sports where a professional player all of a sudden has a breakout year and this might apply to Chandler. Anyway, I think it is certainly short sighted to dismiss him based on past performances. Another example is Kljestan who was often found wanting, but after two excellent seasons with the Red Bulls, seems to be a lot better player than before.
To Gary Page. I agree wholeheartedly. Maybe he just performs better for his club, but maybe he’s just now hitting his stride like you alluded to.
Either way, he certainly deserves to be called into camp when he’s available, and we just have to trust the coach is gonna put on the field whoever gives the team the best chance to win. I personally believe he’s going to be a future contributor for the USMNT.
A very nice midweek indeed for the German based Yanks.