By FRANCO PANIZO
Jozy Altidore has reason to celebrate, and not just because it's his birthday.
Altidore found the back of the net for the first time since Sept. 29 by capping the scoring in AZ Alkmaar's 3-0 victory over ADO Den Haag on the day he turned 22 years old. Altidore initiated a give-and-go sequence before rounding the goalkeeper and finishing with his right foot. The goal was Altidore's eighth of the season across all competitions and fourth in Eredivisie.
Brad Friedel also had a noteworthy performance on Sunday, coming up with 13 saves as Tottenham Hotspur held off Fulham's attempt at a second-half rally in a 3-1 win for the Spurs. Friedel not only came up with several quality blocks in the second half, he also denied fellow American Clint Dempsey from making history with a superb stop in the opening 45 minutes.
One player who made news this weekend but did not play was 17-year-old West Ham United defender Daniel Potts. The U.S. U-20 national team player, who was not called up for the upcoming camp in Germany, dressed for the first time this season in West Ham's 2-0 win against Hull City. Potts making the bench for the Hammers comes two weeks after fellow U.S. youth player Terrence Boyd dressed for the first time for Borussia Dortmund.
Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made 13 saves in Tottenham Hotspur's 3-1 win vs. Fulham on Sunday.
- Brad Guzan dressed but did not play in Aston Villa's 3-2 win vs. Norwich 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' 5-0 win vs. Stoke City on Sunday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Zak Whitbread did not dress in Norwich City's 3-2 loss vs. Aston Villa on Saturday. He is recovering from a hamstring injury.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Birmingham City's 1-0 loss vs. Reading on Sunday.
- Conor Doyle started and played 64 minutes in Derby County's 3-2 loss vs. Peterborough United on Saturday.
- Robbie Findley started and played 89 minutes in Nottingham Forest's 3-0 loss vs. Portsmouth on Saturday.
- Daniel Potts dressed but did not play in West Ham United's 2-0 win vs. Hull City on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek did not dress in Carlisle United's 0-0 draw vs. Exeter City on Saturday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Anton Peterlin started and played 55 minutes in Walsall's 1-1 draw vs. Huddersfield Town on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Brentford's 0-0 draw vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
SCOTLAND
Premier League
- Maurice Edu started and played 90 minutes in Rangers' 3-1 win vs. Dundee United on Saturday.
- Carlos Bocanegra started and played 90 minutes for Rangers.
- Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench and played 16 minutes for Rangers.
First Division
- Dominic Cervi started and played 90 minutes in Greenock Morton's 1-0 win vs. Ayr United on Saturday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in Chievo Verona's 1-0 win vs. Fiorentina on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Jermaine Jones started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Schalke 04's 2-2 draw vs. Hannover 96 on Sunday.
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96's 2-2 draw vs. Schalke 04 on Sunday.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg's 2-1 loss vs. SC Freiburg on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen's 2-2 draw vs. Hamburg SV on Saturday.
- Alfredo Morales did not dress in Hertha Berlin's 2-1 loss vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim's 1-1 draw vs. Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
- Danny Williams came off the bench, played 30 minutes and received a yellow card for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Terrence Boyd did not dress in Borussia Dortmund's 5-1 win vs. VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday.
Bundesliga 2
- Ricardo Clark and Eintracht Frankfurt play FC Erzgebirge Aue on Monday.
- Luis Robles started and played 90 minutes in Karlsruher SC's 3-2 win vs. FC Ingolstadt 04 on Friday.
- Edson Buddle started and played 45 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04's 3-2 loss vs. Karlsruhe on Friday.
- Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich's 3-1 loss vs. VfL Bochum on Saturday.
- Matt Taylor came off the bench and played 23 minutes in SC Paderborn 07's 2-0 win vs. Energie Cottbus on Sunday.
FRANCE
- Quentin Westberg did not dress in Evian Thonon Gaillard's 1-1 draw vs. Lille on Saturday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started, played 86 minute
s and scored a GOAL in AZ Alkmaar's 3-0 win vs. ADO Den Haag on Sunday.
PORTUGAL
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Sporting CP's 1-1 draw vs. Uniao Leiria on Sunday. He is recovering from a groin injury.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov came off the bench and played 32 minutes in FC Tom' Tomsk's 2-1 loss vs. FK Rostov-Na-Donu on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht's 1-0 loss vs. Cercle Brugge on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst started and played 90 minutes in FC Nordsjaelland's 2-0 win vs. HB Koge on Sunday.
- Chris Rolfe started and played 90 minutes in Aalborg BK's 2-0 win vs. AC Horsens on Saturday.
- Clarence Goodson started and played 90 minutes in Brondby IF's 0-0 draw vs. Odense BK on Sunday.
- Brad Rusin started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in HB Koge's 2-0 loss vs. FC Nordsjaelland on Sunday.
- Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play AGF Aarhus on Monday.
SWEDEN
- Ryan Miller and Halmstads BK's season is over.
- Samuel Petrone and Mjallby AIF's season is over.
NORWAY
- Mix Diskerud and Stabaek IF did not play this weekend.
- Josh Gatt and Molde FK did not play this weekend.
- Sean Cunningham and Molde FK did not play this weekend.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres did not dress in Pachuca's 2-2 draw vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Saturday. He is recovering from a foot injury.
- Herculez Gomez started and played 63 minutes in Estudiantes Tecos' 3-0 loss vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress in Club America's 3-1 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Sonny Guadarrama started, played 88 minutes and scored a GOAL in Atlante's 3-2 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL's 1-0 win vs. Puebla on Sunday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- DaMarcus Beasley started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Puebla's 1-0 loss vs. Tigres UANL on Sunday.
- Adrian Ruelas did not dress in Jaguares de Chiapas' 1-0 loss vs. Morelia on Friday.
- Michael Orozco started and played 90 minutes San Luis' 5-1 win vs. Toluca on Saturday.
- Joe Corona started and played 54 minutes in Club Tijuana's 1-1 draw vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
COLOMBIA
- Diego Restrepo dressed but did not play in America de Cali's 1-1 draw vs. Boyaca Chico on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed by Altidore's goal? Still trying to figure out how Friedel came up with more than a dozen saves? Have you already begun Googling Daniel Potts' name?
Share your thoughts below.