By FRANCO PANIZO
From a collective standpoint, the U.S. Men’s National Team forwards could not have asked for a better weekend, as three different players found the back of the net and another delivered a late game-winning assist.
Clint Dempsey, Herculez Gomez and Terrence Boyd were the players to get on the scoresheet, while Jozy Altidore continued his strong form with AZ Alkmaar by setting up the winner in their latest victory on a banner weekend for U.S. forwards.
Dempsey scored his second goal for Tottenham on Sunday, netting what was the eventual winner in Spurs’ 2-1 victory over Southampton by finishing from close range after the ball was desperately cleared into his path.
Boyd also tallied Sunday, scoring the second goal in Rapid Vienna’s 2-0 win against Red Bull Salzburg. Boyd netted his sixth league goal and eighth across all competitions with a thunderous, well-placed header in the second half of the match.
For Gomez, his strike on Saturday was bitter-sweet. The Santos Laguna striker helped his club inch closer to a comeback with his low shot late in the second half, but they still lost to Monterrey. 3-2. The goal was Gomez’s second in four days after scoring the winner in Santos’ CONCACAF Champions League win on Wednesday, and his fourth in the Liga MX Apertura campaign.
Altidore did not score in his first game back for AZ Alkmaar after serving a one-game suspension for a red card, but he dished out a clutch assist in the 88th minute of a 2-1 win against Vitesse Arnhem. With his back to goal, Altidore fought off a defender to get to a ball played over the top before turning and hitting a pass that a teammate finished to give AZ three more points in Eredivisie.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad did this weekend:
ENGLAND
Premiership
- Tim Howard started, played 90 minutes and made two saves in Everton’s 2-2 draw vs. Liverpool on Sunday.
- Brad Friedel started, played 90 minutes and made one save in Tottenham’s 2-1 win vs. Southampton on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started, played 90 minutes before being substituted in stoppage time and scored a GOAL for Tottenham.
- Brad Guzan started, played 90 minutes and made three saves in Aston Villa’s 1-1 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
- Eric Lichaj came off the bench and played 36 minutes for Aston Villa.
- Geoff Cameron started and played 90 minutes in Stoke City’s 0-0 draw vs. Sunderland on Saturday.
- Maurice Edu did not dress for Stoke City.
Championship
- Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton Wanderers’ 2-1 loss vs. Middlesbrough on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton Wanderers. He is recovering from a knee injury.
- Jonathan Spector came off the bench in second half stoppage time in Birmingham City’s 1-0 win vs. Leeds United on Saturday.
- Will Packwood dressed but did not play for Birmingham City.
- Conor Doyle did not dress in Derby County’s 3-0 loss vs. Peterborough United on Saturday.
- Zak Whitbread started and played 90 minutes in Leicester City’s 2-1 loss vs. Crystal Palace on Saturday.
League One
- Frank Simek started and played 90 minutes in Carlisle United’s 4-2 loss vs. AFC Bournemouth on Saturday.
- Robbie Rogers dressed but did not play in Stevenage’s 4-0 loss vs. Swindon Town on Saturday.
- Mike Grella came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Scunthorpe United’s 3-0 loss vs. Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu dressed but did not play in Malaga CF’s 0-0 draw vs. Espanyol on Saturday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega started and played 90 minutes in Racing Santander’s 1-0 loss vs. Elche on Sunday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley dressed but did not play in AS Roma’s 3-2 loss vs. Udinese on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96’s 3-2 loss vs. Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 90 minutes in Schalke 04’s 1-0 win vs. FC Nurnberg on Saturday.
- Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 3-0 loss vs. Mainz on Saturday.
- Danny Williams started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg’s 1-0 loss vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
- David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-1 win vs. Bayern Munich on Sunday.
2. Bundesliga
- John Anthony Brooks started and played 90 minutes in Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw vs. TSV Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday.
- Alfredo Morales dressed but did not play for Hertha Berlin.
- Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 2-0 loss vs. MSV Duisburg on Saturday.
- Joe Gyau came off the bench and played 45 minutes in St Pauli’s 3-2 win vs. Dynamo Dresden on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started, played 90 minutes and had a game-winning ASSIST in in AZ Alkmaar’s 2-1 win vs. Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIwwlGGzXcA?feature=player_detailpage]
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor did not dress in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 2-1 loss vs. FC Porto on Sunday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell dressed but did not play in Vitoria Setubal FC’s 2-1 loss vs. Guimaraes on Friday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 2-0 loss vs. Royal Charleroi SC on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugene Starikov did not dress in FC Rostov’s 1-0 loss vs. Kuban Krasnodar on Friday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Rapid Vienna’s 2-0 win vs. SV Salzburg on Sunday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ5FZHysyVA?feature=player_detailpage]
DENMARK
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Nordsjaelland’s 1-0 win vs. Aalborg BK on Friday.
- Clarence Goodson started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Brondby IF’s 1-1 draw vs. FC Midtjylland on Sunday.
- Conor O’Brien started and played 90 minutes in SonderjyskE’s 2-1 win vs. Esbjerg on Sunday.
- Charlie Davies dressed but did not play in Randers FC’s 2-1 win vs. Silkeborg IF on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya started and played 78 minutes in Helsingborgs IF’s 3-1 win vs. GAIS on Sunday.
- Brian Span did not dress in Djurgardens IF’s 3-1 loss vs. Malmo FF on Friday.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt did not dress in Molde FK’s 2-0 win vs. Rosenborg BK on Sunday. He was serving a one-game suspension due to yellow card accumulation.
- Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK’s 4-0 loss vs. Odd Grenland on Sunday.
- Mix Diskerud started and played 90 minutes in in Rosenborg BK’s 2-0 loss vs. Molde FK on Sunday.
- Sean Cunningham did not dress in Stabaek IF’s 1-0 loss vs. Viking on Sunday. He is recovering from a hip injury.
- Chad Barrett dressed but did not play in Valerenga’s 1-0 win vs. Tromso on Sunday.
MEXICO
- Jose Torres started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and delivered the game-winning ASSIST in Pachuca’s 1-0 win vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2U26zB_wU0?feature=player_detailpage]
- Herculez Gomez came off the bench, played 16 minutes and scored a GOAL in Santos Laguna’s 3-2 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=na5-O3ug-YI?feature=player_detailpage]
- Hector Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 2-1 loss vs. Atlante on Sunday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress in Tigres UANL’s 1-0 loss vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal did not dress in San Luis’ 0-0 draw vs. Queretaro on Saturday.
- Edgar Castillo started and played 80 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 1-1 draw vs. Morelia on Saturday.
- Joe Corona came off the bench and played 27 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Greg Garza came off the bench and played 45 minutes for Club Tijuana.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 1-0 win vs. Pumas UNAM on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? Impressed by the U.S. Men’s National Team forwards’ collective effort? Which goal (or assist) did you like the most? Which other development from the weekend are you most pleased by?
Share your thoughts below.