photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
DaMarcus Beasley's renaissance continued on Sunday, as he did something for Puebla that he has not done in an official game in nearly two years: he scored a goal.
Earning his sixth start for the club in as many games, Beasley netted the game-winner in Puebla's 2-1 triumph versus Pumas UNAM. The goal, which came off a strong header, was Beasley's first since he scored for Rangers back on December 19, 2009. The U.S. men's national team midfielder also helped set up Puebla's first goal in his strong 90-minute outing, drawing a foul before the ensuing free kick found the back of the net.
Jozy Altidore also enjoyed a good day at the office, earning his first start, going the distance and scoring two goals in AZ Alkmaar's 4-0 victory over NEC Nijmegen. Altidore netted the winner off a header before finishing with a left-footed, one-timed shot that was well placed. Altidore now has three goals on the season.
New American Abroad Fabian Johnson, who just announced he'd be open to switching allegiances and playing for the United States, started his third game for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and he made quite an impact. Johnson, who is capable of playing left back, assisted on the winning goal and drew a penalty kick that was converted by a teammate in Hoffenheim's 2-0 win against FC Augsburg.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started and played 90 minutes in Everton's 1-0 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 2-0 loss vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur play Manchester United on Monday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 3-1 win vs. Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 3-2 loss vs. Manchester City on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 1-1 draw vs. Stoke City on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started and played 72 minutes in Birmingham City's 3-1 loss vs. Middlesbrough on Sunday.
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County's 3-0 win vs. Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley came off the bench and played 45 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 2-2 draw vs. Leicester City on Saturday.
- Mike Grella did not dress in Leeds United's 2-2 draw vs. West Ham United on Sunday.
League One
- Frank Simek did not dress in Carlisle United's 2-1 win vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Walsall's 1-1 draw vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu did not dress in Rangers' 3-0 win vs. Motherwell on Sunday. He was serving a one-game suspension for the red card he received in last week's game.
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress for Rangers. He is awaiting approval of a visa
- Carlos Bocanegra did not dress for Rangers. He is awaiting approval of a visa.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 1-0 loss vs. St Johnstone on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones dressed but did not play in Schalke 04's 4-2 win vs. Mainz on Sunday.
- Michael Bradley did not dress in Borussia Moenchengladbach's 4-1 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Friday.
- Steve Cherundolo started and played 90 minutes in Hannover 96's 1-1 draw vs. Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-0 loss vs. Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 1-0 win vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin's 1-1 draw vs. Hannover 96 on Sunday.
- Daniel Williams started and played 90 minutes in SC Freiburg's 5-3 loss vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started, played 77 minutes, had an ASSIST and drew a penalty kick in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 2-0 win vs. FC Augsburg on Saturday.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 4-0 win vs. FSV Frankfurt on Sunday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Karlsruher SC's 2-0 loss vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
- Edson Buddle came off the bench and played 28 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 3-0 loss vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Friday.
- Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich's 3-1 loss vs. Fortuna Dusseldorf on Friday.
- Matt Taylor dressed but did not play in SC Paderborn 07's 2-1 win vs. Dynamo Dresden on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg dressed but did not play in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 1-1 draw vs. AC Ajaccio on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started, played 90 minutes and scored TWO GOALS in AZ Alkmaar's 4-0 win vs. NEC Nijmegen on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAa-OCCGdzw]
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Sporting CP's 0-0 draw vs. Beira Mar on Sunday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov started and played 90 minutes in FC Tom Tomsk's 3-0 loss vs. CSKA Moscow on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in RSC Anderlecht's 2-2 draw vs. Mons on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-1 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Marcus Tracy and Aalborg BK play SonderjyskE on Monday.
- Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play SonderjyskE on Monday.
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 0-0 draw vs. AGF Aarhus on Sunday.
- Brad Rusin did not dress in HB Koge's 3-0 win vs. Silkeborg IF on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play Aalborg BK on Monday.
SWEDEN
- Ryan Miller did not dress in Halmstads BK's 2-1 loss vs. Helsingborg on Saturday.
- Samuel Petrone and Mjallby AIF play Orebro SK on Monday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 1-1 draw vs. Brann on Sunday.
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK play Lillestrom on Monday.
- Sean Cunningham and Molde FK play Lillestrom on Monday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started and played 66 minutes in Pachuca's 2-1 loss vs. Estudiantes Tecos on Friday.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 22 minutes and scored a GOAL in Estudiantes Tecos' 2-1 win vs. Pachuca on Friday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2lbjz1N5ig]
- Edgar Castillo came off the bench and played 39 minutes in Club America's 5-2 win vs. Atlas on Sunday.
- Isaac Acuna did not dress for Club America. He was removed from the first team after turning up to practice drunk.
- Sonny Guadarrama came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Atlante's 2-1 loss vs. Toluca on Sunday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 1-0 win vs. San Luis on Saturday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Puebla's 2-1 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 2-1 win vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco came off the bench and played 24 minutes in San Luis' 1-0 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
- Joe Corona started and played 65 minutes in Club Tijuana's 2-1 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
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What do you think of these performances? Surprised Beasley is thriving in Mexico? How many goals do you see Altidore scoring this season? Hoping Johnson is called into one of the upcoming U.S. men's national team friendlies?
Share your thoughts below.