By FRANCO PANIZO
Alejandro Bedoya is beginning to make a compelling case for why he should be included in one of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s rosters this summer.
Bedoya continued his run of good form at the start of the Allsvenskan campaign, scoring the goal that sparked Helsingborg to a 5-1 rout of Gefle on Saturday. Helsingborg fell behind early, but Bedoya tucked a way a left-footed shot to the far post from a tough angle just after the half-hour mark to pull his club level. The goal was Bedoya’s second of the season and fourth in April, with the two others having come in Svenska Cupen play.
Another player who added to his recent string of good performances was Jozy Altidore. The 23-year-old striker put in a Man of the Match-worthy outing on Friday, scoring two goals and assisting on another in AZ Alkmaar’s 4-0 mauling of SC Heerenveen. Altidore’s goals, one of which came on a picture-perfect free kick, give him 30 across all competitions this season – a record for an American playing abroad – and all but assured AZ another year in the Eredivisie.
Fabian Johnson may not have found the back of the net but he did find a way to make a big contribution for relegation-threatened Hoffenheim. Deployed as a left midfielder against Timmy Chandler, Johnson delivered the assist on the early opener in Hoffenheim’s 2-1 win over Nurnberg on Saturday. The win gave Hoffenheim some hope of avoiding the drop, as they are now three points away from safety with three matches left to play.
Here’s how the Americans Abroad fared this weekend:
Premiership
- Geoff Cameron came off the bench and played 28 minutes in Stoke City’s 1-0 win vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
- Brek Shea did not dress for Stoke City.
- Sebastian Lletget did not dress in West Ham United’s 2-1 loss vs. Manchester City on Saturday.
- Clint Dempsey started and played 90 minutes in Tottenham’s 2-2 draw vs. Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
- Brad Friedel dressed but did not play for Tottenham.
- Tim Howard started and played 90 minutes in Everton’s 1-0 win vs. Fulham on Saturday.
- Brad Guzan and Aston Villa play Sunderland on Monday.
- Eric Lichaj and Aston Villa play Sunderland on Monday.
Championship
- Jonathan Spector did not dress in Birmingham City’s 3-1 loss vs. Ipswich Town on Saturday. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Will Packwood did not dress for Birmingham City. He is recovering from a leg injury.
- Conor Doyle dressed but did not play in Derby County’s 2-1 loss vs. Blackpool on Saturday.
- Stuart Holden came off the bench and played one minute in Bolton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw vs. Cardiff City on Saturday.
- Tim Ream dressed but did not play for Bolton Wanderers.
- Zak Whitbread dressed but did not play in Leceister City’s 2-1 loss vs. Watford on Friay.
League One
- Frank Simek dressed but did not play in Carlisle United’s 2-0 loss vs. Colchester United on Saturday.
- Mike Grella dressed but did not play in Scunthorpe United’s 3-1 win vs. Swindon Town on Saturday.
SPAIN
La Liga
- Oguchi Onyewu did not dress in Malaga CF’s 2-1 win vs. Getafe on Sunday.
Segunda Division
- Carlos Bocanega started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Racing Santander’s 2-1 loss vs. Barcelona B on Friday.
ITALY
- Michael Bradley started and played 90 minutes in AS Roma’s 4-0 win vs. Siena on Sunday.
GERMANY
Bundesliga
- Fabian Johnson started, played 90 minutes and had an ASSIST in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 2-1 win vs. FC Nurnberg on Saturday.
- Danny Williams did not dress for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He is recovering from an ankle injury.
- Timmy Chandler started and played 90 minutes in FC Nurnberg’s 2-1 loss vs. TSG 1899 Hoffenhim on Saturday.
- Michael Parkhurst did not dress in FC Augsburg’s 3-0 win vs. VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.
- Jermaine Jones started and played 81 minutes in Schalke 04′s 4-1 win vs. Hamburg SV on Sunday.
- David Yelldell did not dress in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 win vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday.
- Steve Cherundolo dressed but did not play in Hannover 96′s 3-2 win vs. SpVgg Greuther Furth on Friday.
2. Bundesliga
- Joe Gyau came off the bench and played 18 minutes in St Pauli’s 3-2 loss vs. Hertha Berlin on Sunday.
- John Anthony Brooks started and played 90 minutes in Hertha Berlin’s 3-2 win vs. St Pauli on Sunday.
- Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes for Hertha Berlin.
- Andrew Wooten started and played 90 minutes in SV Sandhausen’s 1-0 loss vs. VfL Bochum on Friday.
- Bobby Wood came off the bench and played eight minutes in TSV 1860 Munich’s 1-1 draw vs. FC Cologne on Sunday.
NETHERLANDS
- Jozy Altidore started, played 90 minutes, had an ASSIST and scored TWO GOALS in AZ Alkmaar’s 4-0 win vs. SC Heerenveen on Friday.
PORTUGAL
- Tony Taylor dressed but did not play in G.D. Estoril Praia’s 2-1 win vs. Braga on Friday.
- Caleb Patterson-Sewell did not dress in Vitoria Setubal’s 2-0 loss vs. FC Porto on Saturday.
RUSSIA
- Eugen Starikov did not dress in FK Rostov’s 3-1 loss vs. Lokomotiv Moscow on Saturday.
TURKEY
- Maurice Edu started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Bursaspor’s 1-1 draw vs. Akhisar Belediye on Saturday.
BELGIUM
- Sacha Kljestan started and played 90 minutes in RSC Anderlecht’s 2-1 loss vs. Club Brugge in the playoffs on Sunday.
DENMARK
- Clarence Goodson did not dress in Brondby IF’s 2-1 win vs. Odense BK on Sunday.
- Charlie Davies came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Randers FC’s 1-0 loss vs. AC Horsens on Sunday.
- Conor O’Brien did not dress in FC Nordsjaelland’s 2-2 draw vs. SonderjyskE on Saturday.
AUSTRIA
- Terrence Boyd came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 3-1 loss vs. Red Bull Salzburg on Saturday.
SWEDEN
- Alejandro Bedoya started, played 81 minutes and scored a GOAL in Helsingborg IF’s 5-1 win vs. Gefle IF on Saturday.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa7jbOe1Pro?feature=player_detailpage]
- Brian Span came off the bench and played nine minutes in Djurgarden IF’s 1-0 loss vs. Syrianska FC on Saturday.
NORWAY
- Josh Gatt started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Molde FK’s 2-1 loss vs. Stromsgodset on Sunday.
- Steve Clark started and played 90 minutes in Honefoss BK’s 1-1 draw vs. Sarpsborg 08 on Sunday.
MEXICO
- Herculez Gomez started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Santos Laguna’s 1-0 loss vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.
- Benji Joya did not dress for Santos Laguna.
- Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 1-0 win vs. Tigres UANL on Saturday.
- Michael Orozco Fiscal started and played 90 minutes in Puebla’s 1-1 draw vs. Atlas on Sunday.
- DaMarcus Beasley started and played 90 minutes for Puebla.
- Jose Torres started and played 90 minutes in Tigres UANL’s 1-0 loss vs. Monterrey on Saturday.
- Jonathan Bornstein did not dress for Tigres UANL.
- Edgar Castillo did not dress in Club Tijuana’s 1-0 loss vs. San Luis on Saturday. He was suspended due to the red card he received last weekend.
- Joe Corona did not dress for Club Tijuana. He was suspended due to the red card he received last weekend.
- Greg Garza did not dress for Club Tijuana.
- Alejandro Guido dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
- Ventura Alvarado did not dress in Club America’s 4-2 win vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
BRAZIL
- Freddy Adu did not dress in Bahia’s 2-1 loss vs. Vitoria in the Baiano group stages on Sunday.
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What do you think of these performances? Which USMNT roster would you like to see Bedoya on this summer? How impressed are you by Altidore’s latest performance and his season overall?
Share your thoughts below.