By FRANCO PANIZO
It's been over a year since Herculez Gomez last represented the U.S. men's national team, but that drought could soon end after Gomez's latest goal-scoring performance.
For the fourth straight game that he's played in, Gomez scored a goal. Scoring with a redirected effort after entering the game in the 68th mintue, Gomez's finish was one of few bright spots for Estudiantes Tecos in their 5-2 loss to Chivas de Guadalajara. Gomez's goal total on the season is now at six (he also scored last week while most leagues took off for the international break).
Sacha Kljestan also had a noteworthy performance, drawing rave reviews from Belgian press for his work in midfield in RSC Anderlecht's 5-0 demolition of rival Standard Liege. Kljestan started and went the distance in the match that kept Anderlecht atop of the league standings.
Michael Bradley continued his strong run of form in Serie A, going 90 minutes and helping Chievo tie Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday. Bradley near added his second assist in as many games, but Juventus cleared a goal-bound Chievo shot off the line.
It wasn't all good news this weekend. Josh Gatt was removed with a reported hamstring injury just 13 minutes into Molde FK's 0-0 draw with Odd Grenland. The timetable for his recovery has yet to be announced.
Here is how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made 2 saves in Everton's 3-1 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
- Marcus Hahnemann did not dress for Everton.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Fulham's 2-0 loss vs. Stoke City on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 4 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 2-2 vs. Newcastle United on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 4-1 loss vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj did not dress for Aston Villa. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Stuart Holden did not dress in Bolton Wanderers' 3-1 win vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 3-1 win vs. Swansea City on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector dressed but did not play in Birmingham City's 2-0 win vs. Leicester City on Sunday.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County's 1-1 draw vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 1-0 loss vs. Coventry City on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek did not dress in Carlisle United's 3-0 win vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 90 minutes in Walsall's 1-0 win vs. Preston North End on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 24 minutes in Brentford's 0-0 draw vs. Scunthorpe United on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
- Maurice Edu started and played 72 minutes in Rangers' 1-1 draw vs. St Mirren on Saturday.
- Alejandro Bedoya did not dress for Rangers.
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes for Rangers.
- Dominic Cervi did not dress in Celtic's 3-3 draw vs. Kilmarnock on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Chievo Verona's 0-0 draw vs. Juventus on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones came off the bench and played 45 minutes Schalke 04's 2-1 loss vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 2-0 loss vs. FC Cologne on Sunday.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-1 loss vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-2 draw vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales came off the bench and played 29 minutes in Hertha Berlin's 4-0 loss vs. Bayern Munich on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson did not dress in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 2-0 loss vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday. He is recovering from a neck injury.
- Danny Williams started and played 62 minutes for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark did not dress in Eintracht Frankfurt's 2-0 win vs. VfL Bochum on Friday.
- Luis Robles dressed but did not play in Karlsruher SC's 2-0 loss vs. FC Union Berlin on Saturday.
- Edson Buddle came off the bench and played 14 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 3-1 loss vs. MSV Duisburg on Saturday.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played 2 minutes in TSV 1860 Munich's 2-0 loss vs. Hansa Rostock on Friday.
- Matt Taylor dressed but did not play in SC Paderborn 07's 1-0 win vs. Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 2-1 loss vs. St Etienne on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started and played 72 minutes in AZ Alkmaar's 2-2 draw vs. Ajax on Saturday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu started and played 45 minutes in Sporting CP's 2-0 win vs. Famalicao in the third round of the Taca de Portugal on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov started and played 29 minutes in FC Tom' Tomsk's 3-0 loss vs. Lokomotiv Moscow on Sunday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 5-0 win vs. Standard Liege on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 1-0 win vs. Aalborg BK on Saturday.
- Marcus Tracy did not dress in Aalborg BK's 1-0 loss vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Chris Rolfe started and played 90 minutes for Aalborg BK.
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 1-0 loss vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Brad Rusin came off the bench and played 30 minutes in HB Koge's 3-1 loss vs. SonderjyskE on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien came off the bench, played 3 minutes and received a yellow card in SonderjyskE's 3-1 win vs. FC HB Koge on Sunday.
SWEDEN
- Ryan Miller and Halmstads BK play Djurgardens IF on Monday.
- Samuel Petrone did not dress in Mjallby AIF's 2-1 win vs. Trelleborg FF on Sunday.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in Stabaek IF's 1-1 draw vs. Lillestrom on Saturday.
- Josh Gatt started and played 13 minutes in Molde FK's 0-0 draw vs. Odd Grenland on Sunday.
- Sean Cunningham did not dress for Molde FK.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres did not dress in Pachuca's 3-2 loss vs. Club Tijuana on Saturday. He is recovering from a foot injury.
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 22 minutes and scored a GOAL in Estudiantes Tecos' 5-2 loss vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday. He also came off the bench, played 27 minutes and scored a GOAL in last Friday's 3-2 loss vs. Monterrey.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress in Club America's 3-0 win vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Sonny Guadarrama did not dress in Atlante's 1-1 draw vs. Jaguares de Chiapas on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Tigres UANL's 2-0 loss vs. Morelia on Friday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla's 1-0 win vs. Queretaro on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 1-1 draw vs. Atlante on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco dressed but did not play in San Luis' 1-1 draw vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Joe Corona played two minutes in Club Tijuana's 3-2 win vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
COLOMBIA
- Diego Restrepo did not play in America de Cali's 3-0 win vs. Cucuta Deportivo on Saturday.
——–
What do you think of these performances? Is Gomez deserving of a call-up to the U.S. men's national team? Impressed by Kljestan and Anderlecht's thrashing of Standard Liege? Expecting Gatt to recover in time to be summoned to the U.S. team's November friendlies?
Share your thoughts below.
I’m guessing there in no list.
Gomez is golden. I was dissapointed that he was not in the Gold Cup line up and also not included in recent camps. If a game is tied or we are behind after 65 minutes Two Subs:
Adu and Gomez.
Both are wonderful in small doses.
Gomez is like an American Klose. It is never flashy, pretty, or anything we would call beautiful, BUT the net moves when he is in the game. Do we care about anything else?
brain fart…thinking Chandler – and yeah, Chandler doesn’t play for Everton…I know
Thanks for the obvious bumo Bundes….looks like we have two there!
The Germans are mediocre….The MLS developed players are superior
Hey tar tar. u missed the sarcasm
… Tim Howard does not run 7-8 miles per game.
Mate please look at Israel’s squad…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_national_football_team#Current_squad
And you say on Yossi would make the team
The ankle injury he got in the Gold Cup final set him back. He’s recovered from the injury now but it set him back in terms of his off season conditioning. Right now he isn’t where he would normally be. If you recall, he went 90 minutes in the rain in Miami two days before that Ecuador game.
Or it’s possible he is finished.
I couldn’t tell you.
I think it’s a little premature to stick a fork in Torres, and there’s nothing to say that Fiscal wouldn’t do better with a big man next to him as well as a few more camps. I have to believe that Ream has better days ahead of him provided he can get his mojo back.
It is rare but possible for a healthy footballer to perform at top level into their mid and late 30’s, especially if they are the best option in your pool and do not have a history or major injury. But you’d better have a viable option waiting on the bench, because going 90+ is doubtful.
But time waits for no one, so there need to be younger players in the mix. I’m sure there will be folks starting in Brasil that we haven’t even heard of/thought of/seen yet. Don’t forget, JK is about youth. His vision is to transform the entire system and therefore shape several future generations of US footballers. If you believe his press, (I’m not saying I do or don’t) he’s the reason for why Germany is currently enjoying the dawn of their latest Golden Age, so the future should be bright if he can assemble the right elements together here… and it really was his vision and not Jogi Lowe….
Maybe Johnson or Rolfe replacing Boca? Don’t think Ream is there..and I’m being polite @ that
With MLS not recognizing International dates & in playoffs…I hope Klinsi takes the chance to look @ other young players outside of Shea, Agudelo, Beckerman, LD
Dolo is solid & i’d still take him over Rolfe, but Ecuador was just a blur. The lack of speed forced the D-line from being able to press up as much
Where is that list?
If you were referring to Jozy “I’ll run, maybe, when I feel like it” Altidore – a player having 3-4 GOOD games at the international level is hardly a target striker. I need a lot more convincing and fire from him to believe. Yeah he’s starting to perform @ the club level, but it doesn’t carry over. Beasley works harder & has better technique. He may be one of our guys ‘right now’ but my list was more of what I would expect in WC qualifying as we get closer to Brazil. The talent is young…but it’s already better (Chandler is a perfect example) The goal, is to move as many of them to foreign clubs with better training, faster play & longer seasons to grow & mature. It’s already happening.
2 games – running up to 7-8 miles each, 6-7 hr flight, jet lag, and hes young….at my age, that much in 8 days…I’d be dead
Watching Howard in training was amazing. Longer term, the more Hamid comes to work with him during Intn’l dates will boost his work ethic & elevate his play. Barring injury, I think Howard will still be our Guy in 2014
Shea is in a great spot & can be a playmaker – in a 4-4-2 maybe – has good movement & speed…Point is – the guys we see now may not be around..age/injuries etc. for Brazil…and the talent coming up is mostly U23 AND getting solid minutes with foreign clubs. Better to leave them there and invite them to the Jan camp
likely an arrangement with their clubs to not overwork them on Tues, then have to travel & risk injury for a Sat game
Name is Josh Gatt…same guy…plays consistently for Molde & may move to Man-U in Jan? The only other up & coming striker getting press recently has been Conor Doyle who’s only 20. Aguedelo is good, but needs to mature too & get some legs that last longer than 30min at the pace Klisi wants to maintain
Timmy looked really bad on Chelsea’s second goal.
Foytlin has made some good points. Our team needs to have youth injected. By 2014, Boca and Dolo will be 35 (will not be at WC). Howard will be 35 but goalkeepers do not age as badly. Dono, Beas and Beckers will be 32 (thus borderline call ups). Jermaine Jones will be 33 (he’s done). Our central defense may benefit from calling in Agbossaumonde. Stuart Holden I fear is he new O’Brien. Time to call in Adu. The Mexican experiment, except for Torres(?), deserves to be shelved. Does anyone else think Brek Shea deserves a try at striker? The German trio of Williams, Chandler and Johnson (and Renken?) probably need more time together but may be our saviors.
Last game I saw him play (a few weeks ago), he started, took a knock, played til half, then came out. The Scottish commentators were praising his performance, but I don’t know if he came out due to injury or what. Don’t think he has played since, though.
+1
I’m not so sure. I love Dolo and he is one of my favorite players, but for the first time ever I noticed a little bit of aging in him against Ecuador, and I think he has only started in like 4 out of 9 Bundesliga matches this season.
still mulling over a starting lineup against France:
——-LD-Altidore-Deuce——–
—–Spector-Bradley-Williams—–
-Chandler-Boca-Onyewu-Cherundolo-
———–Howard—————
subs:
Hamid Goodson Edu Beckerman Jones Shea Beasely Bedoya Gomez Agudelo
I wouldn’t worry about Dolo.
Umm…since when did Gomez have a “terrible” World Cup??
Not good for Bedoya or Dolo. Why did Gooch come out at half time?
Easily the most ignorant statement I’ve heard here….. and I’ve heard some doozies! You have absolutely no leg to stand on. Fact is…. there IS data and a list for this, I suggest you go take a look for an eye-opening experience.
What happened to the guys who started and only played like 13-30 minutes? Were they pulled off due to injury? If so, were they serious injuries?
He is busy scoring…
You don’t know what you’re talking about. Our C team would smoke Israel.
Yossi Benayoun is the only player from Israel who would make a USMNT camp.
Yes, and he’s doing very well with them. He’s also lining up as an option on free kicks but mostly not actually taking those.
Yeah that list looks good until you compare it to every other team in the top 30
weakest of the top 30? Stop hating. Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey, Michael Bradley, Stuart Holden, Landon Donovan, Steve Cherundolo,and now Brek Shea and these new Germans.
I’m pretty sure Marcus Tracy was released by Aalborg