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Americans Abroad: A Look Ahead

HerculezGomezLaguna (Getty)


By FRANCO PANIZO

Puebla beware. Herculez Gomez is starting to get hot again.

Just as he has done so often in the past couple of years, Gomez is starting to put together a scoring run. He has found the back of the net three times for Santos Laguna in the past week-and-a-half, and will look to add to that this weekend when DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla come into town.

Another match-up of intrigue that will happen on Saturday is when Tim Howard and Brad Friedel face off in a battle of American goalkeepers. Howard will be hoping to pick up his seventh clean sheet of the season when he goes up against a talented Spurs attack, while Friedel will try to help Tottenham get back in the win column after two straight losses in the Premiership.

Also looking to build on his performance from last is Andrew Wooten. The U.S. Under-23 men's national team forward (who was not called into the team's February camp) made his first-team debut for Kaiserslautern last week, and he will be aiming to build on that when the Red Devils play VfB Stuttgart.

Here is who the Americans Abroad play this weekend:

FRIDAY

Michael Bradley and Chievo Verona play Inter Milan.

Andrew Wooten and Kaiserslautern play VfB Stuttgart.

Matt Taylor and SC Paderborn 07 play VfL Bochum.

Joe Corona, Edgar Castillo, Greg Garza and Club Tijuana play America.

SATURDAY

Stuart Holden, Tim Ream and Bolton Wanderers play Queens Park Rangers. (Holden is out injured.)

Brad Guzan, Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Clint Dempsey and Fulham.

Adam Henley and Blackburn Rovers play Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Tim Howard, Marcus Hahnemann and Everton play Brad Friedel and Tottenham Hotspur.

Jonathan Spector and Birmingham City play Coventry City.

Conor Doyle and Derby County play Watford.

Robbie Findley and Nottingham Forest play Millwall.

Daniel Potts and West Ham United play Doncaster Rovers.

Frank Simek and Carlisle United play Mike Grella and Bury.

Anton Peterlin and Walsall play Hartlepool United.

Fabian Johnson, Danny Williams, Joe Gyau and TSG 1899 Hoffenheim play Bayern Munich.

Alfredo Morales and Hertha Berlin play FC Cologne.

Timmy Chandler and FC Nurnberg play Mainz.

David Yelldell and Bayer Leverkusen play VfL Wolfsburg.

Terrence Boyd and Borussia Dortmund play FC Augsburg.

Bobby Wood and TSV 1860 Munich play FSV Frankfurt. (Wood is out injured.)

Quentin Westberg and Evian Thonon Gaillard play Charlie Davies and Sochaux.

Michael Parkhurst and FC Nordsjaelland play Odense BK.

Adrian Ruelas and Jaguares de Chiapas play Jonathan Bornstein and Tigres UANL.

Herculez Gomez and Santos Laguna play DaMarcus Beasley and Puebla.

Michael Orozco Fiscal and San Luis play Jose Torres and Pachuca. (Torres is out injured.)

Sonny Guadarrama and Atlante play Atlas.

SUNDAY

Zak Whitbread and Norwich City play Wigan Athletic.

Robbie Rogers and Leeds United play Middlesbrough. (Rogers is out injured.)

Dominic Cervi and Celtic play Dundee United.

Steve Cherundolo and Hannover 96 play Werder Bremen.

Jermaine Jones and Schalke 04 play Hamburg SV.

Jozy Altidore and AZ Alkmaar play De Graafschap.

Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting CP play Guimaraes. (Onyewu is out injured.)

Eugene Starikov and Zenit St Petersburg play Kuban Krasnodar.

Chris Rolfe and Aalborg BK play Lyngby.

Conor O'Brien and SonderjyskE play FC Copenhagen.

Brad Rusin and HB Koge play Silkeborg IF.

Clarence Goodson and Brondby IF play AGF Aarhus.

MONDAY

Luis Robles and Karlsruhe play St Pauli.

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Which matches are you most looking forward to? Do you see Beasley and Puebla stopping Gomez from scoring again? Who will win between Howard and Friedel? Think Wooten should be on the U.S. U-23 team if he continues to come off the bench for Kaiserslautern?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Goals are vital.
    However, you have to look at goal scorers like Herc and Wondo through the prism of a national team manager.

    That manager usually has comparatively little time to evaluate and integrate players into the team set up. And if you are someone whose main value lies in scoring goals and not a target man, then if you don’t score right away and regularly , regardless of how well you do other things, then you are seen as a failure .

    And by the way both Herc and Wondo are much better all around players than they are usually given credit for.

    I am not that familiar with Wondo but if you follow Herc you will see that when he moves to a new team it takes him a while to get settled and then eventually he gets ridiculously hot. The term is streaky.

    Now transplant him from Santos Laguna to the USMNT and it just as if you transferred him to another team.

    So if you are JK you have to wonder , even if Herc is red hot for Santos Laguna can he translate that to USMNT when his record suggest he needs time get settled to a different situation?

    And can you afford to wait long enough for Herc to heat up? I happen to think, unlike most that he did well in the World Cup all things considered. But unlike a defender or a midfielder if Herc doesn’t score, then he is considered a failure.

    Reply
  2. When Gomez played in MLS, he had a half a season where he scored at the kind of rate Wondo has done consistently for 2 full seasons. I really do not think he is more athletic than Wondo and no forward in the US pool works harder than Wondo. It is hard to see how Gomez brings anything more than Wondo does and Wondo has been a lot more consistent goal scorer at the same level.

    Reply
  3. And you don’t think there’s a use for that in a 23? As as sub? Moreover, he’s used to being a sub, and flourishes in it. Sounders game shows a nose for goal can turn the tide of a game otherwise going against you.

    Reply
  4. Mexico as top 10 league is highly debatable, and while Herc is a good player, he’s essentially a nose for the goal guy like Wondo who doesn’t bring much else in the way of technical skill, hold up play, target play, or wing play.

    Reply
  5. Its early but Klins seems to have little use for him. And Bradley didn’t really use him much either.

    Strange for a country thin at forward and a guy who goes on absolute tears. Maybe they see him as too limited in the rest of his game? I don’t know.

    Reply
  6. Hard to believe Gomez isn’t getting call ups. Mexico is 1 of the top 10 leagues in the world and he’s actually scoring. He may not be an option for 2014 WC but neither is Buddle, their good for their role in qualifying though

    Reply
  7. Wooten played well for Kaiserlautern seemed like the only guy out there creating chances, hopefully he’ll get more minutes this week.

    Reply
  8. wonder if Matt Taylor will score today. His team is close to the top of the 2 Bundesliga. He’s basically the Bundesliga’s Jay DeMerit, well okay, maybe not

    Reply

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