By FRANCO PANIZO
It has been hard for Carlos Bocanegra to see the field for Stade Rennes over the past two months, but the U.S. national team captain took another positive step towards reclaiming his left back spot this weekend.
Bocanegra started Rennes' round of 32 Coupe de France game against Saumar, and helped Rennes post a 4-0 victory over the fifth-division club. Bocanegra's start was his third in Rennes' last four games, a stretch of appearances that began in the club's French League Cup victory over Lille on Jan. 14.
Brad Guzan also enjoyed league cup success, as he added another win to his relatively young resume by making three saves in Aston Villa's 3-2 FA Cup win over Brighton. Guzan's latest victory pushes Aston Villa to the fifth round of the competition, and comes just days after he helped the Villans secure a place in Carling Cup final.
Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
England
PREMIERSHIP
- Landon Donovan started and played 76 minutes in Everton's 2-1 loss vs. Birmingham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton's 2-1 loss vs. Birmingham in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey did not dress in Fulham's 3-1 win vs. Accrington Stanley in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jozy Altidore did not dress in Hull City's 4-0 loss vs. Manchester United on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 3-2 win vs. Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
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Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa's 3-2 win vs. Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
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Marcus Hahnemann dressed but did not play in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-2 draw vs. Crystal Palace in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
COCA COLA CHAMPIONSHIP
- Jay DeMerit started and played 90 minutes in Watford's 3-2 loss vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Sheffield Wednesday's 2-1 win vs. Peterborough United on Saturday.
LEAGUE ONE
- Ian Joyce did not dress in Southend United's 1-1 draw vs. Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Norwich City's 1-0 win vs. Brentford on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Leeds United's 2-2 draw vs. Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
- Jemal Johnson started and played 90 minutes in Stockport County's 0-0 draw vs. Carlisle United on Saturday.
- Jon-Paul Pittman did not dress in Wycombe Wanderers' 1-1 draw vs. Southend United on Saturday.
Scotland
- Maurice Edu did not dress in Rangers' 1-1 draw vs. Heart of Midlothian on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley did not dress in Rangers' 1-1 draw vs. Heart of Midlothian on Saturday. He is recovering from a thigh injury.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 4-1 win vs. St Johnstone on Sunday.
Italy
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 2-0 loss vs. Inter Milan on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
Germany
BUNDESLIGA
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 0-0 draw vs. Hertha Berlin on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Hannover 96's 1-0 loss vs. Mainz on Saturday.
- Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96's 1-0 loss vs. Mainz on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 2-2 draw vs. VfL Bochum on Saturday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 1-1 draw vs. Nurnberg on Saturday.
BUNDESLIGA 2
- Kenny Cooper did not dress in TSV 1860 Munich's 3-0 win vs. Hansa Rostock on Friday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern's 0-0 draw vs. Ahlen on Satuday.
- Matt Taylor started and played 63 minutes in FSV Frankfurt's 5-0 loss vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Friday.
- David Yeldell did not dress in TUS Koblenz's 4-2 loss vs. Arminia Bielefeld on Sunday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
France
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes in Stade Rennes' 4-0 win vs. Saumur in the round of 32 in the Coupe de France on Friday.
Portugal
- Kamani Hill and Vitoria de Guimaraes did not play this weekend.
Greece
- Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika's 0-0 draw vs. Panathinaikos on Sunday.
- Eddie Johnson came off the bench and played 22 minutes in Aris Salonika's 0-0 draw vs. Panathinaikos on Sunday.
Mexico
- Jose Francisco Torres started and played 70 minutes in Pachuca's 1-0 loss vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco did not dress in San Luis' 3-2 win vs. Atlante on Saturday. Orozco is linked to a move to MLS and the Philadelphia Union.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL's 3-1 loss vs. Guadalajara on Saturday.
- Marco Vidal started and played 90 minutes in Indios de Ciudad Juarez's 0-0 draw vs. Santos on Sunday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 39 minutes in Puebla's 3-2 win vs. Estudiantes U.A. de G on Friday.
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What do you think of these performances? Think Bocanegra is starting to find his starting role with Rennes, or is he just benefiting from cup matches? Surprised that Guzan posted a second cup competition win in a week?
Share your thoughts below.