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Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

Stuart Holden 5 (Getty Images)

By FRANCO PANIZO

On the final weekend of club action for several Americans Abroad, there was plenty of good news that should add some more intrigue as Bob Bradley prepares to make his selections for the U.S.'s preliminary World Cup roster.

Stuart Holden played in his first match since suffering a broken leg in early March, coming off the bench in Bolton Wanderers' 2-1 win against Birmingham. Holden played 24 minutes in the club's season finale, and his cameo should serve as a boost in confidence as he heads into the U.S. camp next week.

Eddie Johnson isn't a lock for the camp, but he may have won himself a callup as he scored his third goal in as many games in the Greek play-offs. Johnson headed home a cross in the 72nd minute to give Aris Salonika the lead, but the defense would unravel, surrendering three goals in a span of nine minutes to lose to Olympiakos, 4-2. Johnson played all 90 minutes in the loss.

Jose Francisco Torres also went the distance in his club's respective match, helping Pachuca dispose of top seed Monterrey in the quarterfinals of the Mexican Liguilla. Torres delivered the game-winning assist in Pachuca's 2-1 triumph. 

Here is how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:

England

PREMIERSHIP

  • Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made four saves in Everton's 1-0 win vs. Portsmouth on Sunday.

  • Clint Dempsey started, played 67 minutes and received a yellow card in Fulham's 4-0 loss vs. Arsenal on Sunday.

  • Jonathan Spector dressed but did not play in West Ham United's 1-1 draw vs. Manchester City on Sunday.

  • Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Aston Villa's 1-0 loss vs. Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

  • Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 1-0 loss vs. Blackburn Rovers on Sunday.

  • Marcus Hahnemann started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-1 win vs. Sunderland on Sunday.

  • Stuart Holden came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Bolton Wanderers' 2-1 win vs. Birmingham on Sunday.

    LEAGUE ONE

    • Eric Lichaj started and played 90 minutes in Leyton Orient's 1-0 loss vs. Colchester United on Saturday.

    • Jemal Johnson came off the bench and played 19 minutes in Stockport County's 3-0 loss vs. Tranmere Rovers on Saturday.

    • Jon-Paul Pittman started and played 90 minutes in Wycombe Wanderers' 3-0 win vs. Gillingham on Saturday.

    • Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Leeds United's 2-1 win vs. Bristol Rovers on Saturday.

    • Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 2-0 loss vs. Carlisle United on Saturday.

    Scotland

    • Maurice Edu started and played 72 minutes in Rangers' 3-3 draw vs. Motherwell on Sunday.
    • Dominic Cervi dressed but did not play in Celtic's 2-1 win vs. Heart of Midlothian on Sunday.

    Italy

    • Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in AC Milan's 1-0 loss vs. Genoa on Sunday. He was on the preliminary 23-man roster for the match.

    Germany

    BUNDESLIGA

    • Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 1-1 draw vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

    • Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 3-0 win vs. VfL Bochum on Saturday.

    • Sal Zizzo did not dress in Hannover 96's 3-0 win vs. VfL Bochum on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
    • Jermaine Jones did not dress in Schalke 04's 0-0 draw vs. Mainz 05 on Saturday. He is recovering from a leg injury.
    • Ricardo Clark started and played 90 minutes in Eintracht Frankfurt's 3-1 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
    • Daniel Williams dressed but did not play in SC Freiburg's 3-1 win vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

    • Jared Jeffrey did not dress in Mainz 05's 0-0 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.

    BUNDESLIGA 2 

    • Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Kaiserslautern's 1-1 draw vs. FC Augsburg on Sunday.
    • Matt Taylor did not dress in FSV Frankfurt's 1-1 draw vs. TUS Koblenz on Sunday.
    • David Yeldell did not dress in TUS Koblenz's 1-1 draw vs. FSV Frankfurt on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.

    France

    • Charlie Davies did not dress in Sochaux's 2-0 loss vs. Bordeaux on Saturday.

    Portugal

    • Gale Agbossoumonde did not dress in Sporting Braga's 1-1 draw vs. CD Nacional de Madeira on Sunday.

    Greece

    • Freddy Adu dressed but did not play in Aris Salonika's 4-2 loss vs. AEK Athens in the Greek play-offs on Saturday.

    • Eddie Johnson started, played 90 minutes and scored a GOAL in Aris Salonika's 4-2 loss vs. AEK Athens in the Greek play-offs on Sunday.

    Denmark

    • Benny Feilhaber dressed but did not play in AGF Aarhus' 1-0 win vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday.
    • Michael Parkhurst started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-0 loss vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
    • Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 2-0 loss vs. Brondby on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
    • Chris Rolfe did not dress in Aalborg BK's 2-0 loss vs. Brondby on Sunday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.

    Sweden

    • Alejandro Bedoya started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Orebro SK's 1-0 win vs. Djurgarden on Sunday.

    • Ryan Miller started and played 90 minutes in Halmstads BK's 2-1 loss vs. BK Hacken on Sunday.

    • Michael Thomas dressed but did not play in Halmstads BK's 2-1 loss vs. BK Hacken on Sunday.

    Norway

    • Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in IK Start's 1-0 loss vs. Tromso on Sunday.
    • Hunter Freeman started and played 90 minutes in IK Start's 1-0 loss vs. Tromso on Sunday.
    • Mikkel Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek's 2-1 win vs. Brann on Sunday.

    • Steve Clark dressed but did not play in Honefoss BK's 1-0 win vs. Sandefjord on Sunday.

    Mexico

    • Jose Francisco Torres started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in Pachuca's 2-1 win vs. Monterrey in the second leg of the Liguilla's quarterfinals on Saturday. Pachuca advanced to the semifinals on a 3-1 aggregate.

    Argentina

    • Michael Hoyos did not dress in Estudiantes La Plata's 0-0 draw vs. Rosario Central on Sunday.

    —————————–

    What do you think of these performances? Think Holden can win a starting spot for the U.S.? Does Johnson deserve a look in the camp? Do you see Torres and Pachuca reaching the final? Where do you see Beasley going this summer?

    Share your thoughts below.

    Comments

    1. When is Bradley going to tell us who’s in camp? The damn thing starts in 7 days, and it’s not like you can drive to Princeton from Greece. He has to know already, right? So what’s with the cloak and dagger act?

      Reply
    2. Maybe Russia but I would argue that Turkey and the Netherlands are stronger.

      Nevertheless, let’s say you are correct.

      What does this mean? Are you saying that if an American player is a regular in Belgium, he is not as good as an American player who is a regular in Greece? I think that is a crock.

      What if the American in Greece is good but is only plays about a third of the number of games as the American in Belgium?

      I’m a little tired of this notion by so many people on this site that because Player A plays in a European League he automatically a better choice than an MLS player for the national team.

      Examples?

      Ryan Nelsen was a college player from New Zealand. He spent 2 years at Greensboro College and then 2 years at Stanford. Drafted by DC United he spent 4 years there. In 2005 he went to Blackburn Rovers and has been there ever since and is their captain and New Zealand’s captain as well. He doesn’t seem to have had a lot of trouble “moving up”. I think if you look carefully you’ll find the real reason more American MLS guys aren’t in Europe,particularly Great Britain, besides the MSL’ transfer policies, are the permitting regulations. Guys like Howard,Demerit,Holden and Nelsen have favorable passport and ancestry situations. A guy like Twellman had it much harder.

      It’s not just about talent and ability.

      Reply
    3. Just as an aside…… But Zakuanis game reminds me a lot of a young beas…… Great fit great team…. Just imagine the service montero and nkufo woul receive from beas ljunberg and zakuani

      There midfield would instantly be the best in mls

      Reply
    4. when you put it like that, suddenly, I’m not so excited for the World Cup. It looks like the All Whites (jerseys) roster that was just released

      Reply
    5. so I guess if we’re going strictly on form and fitness, regardless of league and qualifying history, this is what we’d be looking at as a starting XI: (3-5-2)

      howard
      cherundolo goodson pearce
      edu bradley
      bedoya torres donovan
      buddle dempsey

      subs: Hanemann, Dykstra, Lichaj, Parkhurst, Gonzales, Freeman, Clark, Convey, Davis, Holden, Gomez, EJ

      Reply
    6. Where’s the [Flag Offensive Comment] tag when you need it? What are you, 14? Trying to show your freshman buddies how much swagger you got? Tone it down.

      Reply

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