Top Stories

Americans Abroad: Weekend Rewind

JoseTorresCelebratesTigresUANLGoal1-AtleticoSanLuis2014 (Imago7)

By FRANCO PANIZO

In sore need of boosting his quickly-fading World Cup chances, Jose Torres enjoyed a goal-scoring performance that just might grab the attention of U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann ahead of next month’s friendly vs. Mexico.

Torres netted his first league goal since joining Tigres UANL in 2012 on Saturday, capping the scoring in the club’s surprise 3-0 triumph over Liga MX leaders Cruz Azul. The veteran midfielder finished off a nice passing sequence with a low shot from the left side of the penalty area, punctuating a surprising result that handed Cruz Azul their first defeat of the Clausura campaign and kept Tigres undefeated in six league matches. Torres’ showing could not have come at a much better time, as Klinsmann is expected to summon mostly MLS and Liga MX-based players for April’s showdown with El Tri.

There were also some other positive developments in Mexico, as Alejandro Guido and Gabriel Farfan saw time for their respective clubs. The 19-year-old Guido made his Liga MX debut by coming off the bench and contributing five minutes for the Xolos in their 2-0 win vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Friday, and Farfan started his first game in Mexico’s top tier in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 2-2 draw vs. Atlas on Saturday.

It was not all good news this weekend, however. Both Tim Howard and Jozy Altidore saw their clubs crash out of the FA Cup and neither player was on the field to try and prevent that from happening. Howard was in uniform but did not play in Everton’s 4-1 defeat to Arsenal on Saturday, and Altidore went a second straight week without dressing as Sunderland fell, 3-0, to Hull City on Sunday.

Here is how the Americans Abroad performed this weekend:

ENGLAND

FA Cup

  • Tim Howard dressed but did not play in Everton’s 4-1 loss vs. Arsenal on Saturday.
  • Jozy Altidore did not dress in Sunderland’s 3-0 loss vs. Hull City on Sunday.

Premiership

  • Geoff Cameron started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Stoke City’s 1-1 draw vs. Norwich City on Saturday.
  • Brad Guzan and Aston Villa did not play this weekend.
  • Brad Friedel dressed but did not play in Tottenham Hotspur’s 4-0 loss vs. Chelsea on Saturday.
  • Cody Cropper did not dress in Southampton’s 3-0 loss to Liverpool on Saturday.
  • Sebastian Lletget and West Ham United did not play this weekend.

CHAMPIONSHIP

  • Oguchi Onyewu started and played 90 minutes in Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-0 loss vs. Yeovil Town on Saturday.
  • Danny Williams did not dress in Reading’s 1-1 draw vs. Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
  • Duane Holmes started and played 67 minutes in Yeovil Town’s 2-0 win vs. Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
  • Will Packwood started and played 90 minutes in Birmingham City’s 2-0 loss vs. Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
  • Jonathan Spector started and played 90 minutes for Birmingham City.
  • Tim Ream started and played 90 minutes in Bolton’s 5-1 win vs. Leeds United on Saturday.
  • Stuart Holden did not dress for Bolton. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Eric Lichaj did not dress in Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 loss vs. Barnsley on Saturday. He is recovering from a groin injury.
  • Brek Shea did not dress in Barnsley’s 1-0 win vs. Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
  • Zak Whitbread did not dress in Derby County’s 1-0 loss vs. Millwall on Saturday.
  • Gboly Ariyibi did not dress in Leeds United’s 5-1 loss vs. Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

GERMANY

Bundesliga

  • Fabian Johnson started and played 90 minutes in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim’s 4-0 loss vs. Schalke 04 on Saturday.
  • John Brooks dressed but did not play in Hertha Berlin’s 1-1 draw vs. Mainz 05 on Sunday.
  • Timmy Chandler did not dress in FC Nurberg’s 2-0 loss vs. Werder Bremen on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • Steve Cherundolo did not dress in Hannover 96’s 1-1 draw vs. Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. He is recovering from a knee injury.
  • David Yelldell dressed but did not play in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-1 draw vs. Hannover 96 on Saturday.

Bundesliga 2

  • Alfredo Morales started and played 90 minutes in FC Ingolstadt 04’s 1-1 draw vs. FC Union Berlin on Saturday.
  • Bobby Wood dressed but did not play in TSV 1860 Munich’s 4-0 win vs. VfR Aalen on Friday.
  • Andrew Wooten came off the bench and played eight minutes in FSV Frankfurt’s 1-0 win vs. St Pauli on Sunday.

FRANCE

  • Alejandro Bedoya came off the bench and played 66 minutes in FC Nantes’ 2-2 draw vs. AC Ajaccio on Saturday.

NETHERLANDS

  • Aron Johannsson started, played 90 minutes and scored TWO GOALS in AZ Alkmaar’s 4-0 win vs. SC Heracles Almelo on Saturday.

  • Juan Agudelo came off the bench and played 29 minutes in FC Utrecht’s 1-0 loss vs. PSV Eindhoven on Saturday.

TURKEY

  • Jermaine Jones started and played 61 minutes in Besiktas’ 1-0 win vs. Eskisehirspor on Sunday.

BELGIUM

  • Sacha Kljestan dressed but did not play in RSC Anderlecht’s 1-0 loss vs. OH Leuven on Saturday.

DENMARK

  • Conor O’Brien dressed but did not play in Odense BK’s 1-0 loss vs. FC Copenhagen on Sunday.
  • Babajide Ogunbiyi dressed but did not play in Viborg FF’s 3-1 loss vs. Esbjerg on Sunday.

AUSTRIA

  • Terrence Boyd started and played 90 minutes in Rapid Vienna’s 1-1 draw vs. FC Wacker Innsbruck on Sunday.

MEXICO

  • DaMarcus Beasley started, played 90 minutes and received a yellow card in Puebla’s 3-0 loss vs. Toluca on Friday.
  • Michael Orozco started, played 63 minutes and received a yellow card for Puebla.
  • Jose Torres started, played 90 minutes, received a yellow card and scored a GOAL in Tigres UANL’s 3-0 win vs. Cruz Azul on Saturday.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4DPDw1Fgog?feature=player_detailpage]

  • Jonathan Bornstein dressed but did not play in Atlante’s 4-2 win vs. Queretaro on Sunday.
  • Joe Corona started and played 90 minutes in Club Tijuana’s 2-0 win vs. Chivas de Guadalajara on Friday.
  • Greg Garza started and played 90 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Herculez Gomez came off the bench and played 13 minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Alejandro Guido came off the bench and played five minutes for Club Tijuana.
  • Edgar Castillo dressed but did not play for Club Tijuana.
  • Paul Arriola did not dress for Club Tijuana.
  • Joaquin Alonso Hernandez did not dress in Monterrey’s 2-0 loss vs. Pachuca on Saturday.
  • Gabriel Farfan started and played 90 minutes in Jaguares de Chiapas’ 2-2 draw vs. Atlas on Saturday.

—–

What do you think of these performances? Do you still believe that Torres has a chance to make the World Cup squad? How do you rate Johannsson’s latest goals and Farfan’s most recent appearance?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. We’re going into the last 90ish days who our most important players in really bad form or early season conditioning. Just doesn’t bode well for the WC. But then again I was in S. Korea and Japan and saw our boys shock Portugal and back our way into the sound round, beat Mexico and then get robbed in the Germany game. Go you really never know.

    Reply
  2. Why in the world was Torres the headline. How about Aron johanssen scores two of the best goals by an American in a long time. And those that say even cozy was scoring like that, no he was not scoring like these goals holy crap

    Reply
  3. Joe corona had an excellent game on the right for xolos. His passing was crisp and precise and he had a couple of shots on goal. Looks like he just needs some playing time. Interestingly enough, Greg Garza was also fantastic as a LB. Solid defending and was up and down the flank all night. Almost had a goal as well.

    Reply
      • We’ll have to see how he does in April. Good to see he’s getting minutes again. It sucks that the Gold Cup (where he played pretty well) derailed his club career for a bit.

    • Whatever it is, looks like he’s the US true starting forward an in form and not Jozy. I wonder how a good Altidore-Johansson partnership for AZ Alkamaar would have translated for the nats.

      Reply
  4. Hey JK

    Time to pick the top 30 and get them playing and playing and playing..Cut the fat and those players we all know are NOT gonna make it. Then when you have the final 30 you can start cutting to the final 23?

    Say goodbye to Googh, Agudelo, Torres, Corona, Shea,Kleshtan, Edu, ( sadly Holsden) Gomez,Castillo etc etc.. These guys noy gonna be there so cut the fat and start concentrating on top 30 and then cut to 23.. just saying..

    Reply
      • LOL at the soccer blood post — ditto Dan’s extreme sarcasm in response to that bluster. And Gomez “surely” top 23 in form or not has me LOL too. In WHAT universe are you?

    • Soccer Blood,

      You are totally right about cutting the fat and getting the 23 players set.

      Just don’t tell the others on here. They are a herd of sheep who think JK is a God and can do no wrong. Proof: you managed to get attacked twice in only four responses.

      God, is the USMNT going to bomb out hard in the World Cup.

      Reply
      • Nah, don’t worry, he’s just a tiny little man with a massive Napoleon complex. Best thing to do is just see his name, skip the rest of that post and move to the next. There are good, thoughtful people here, he just doesn’t happen to be one of them.

      • I had more offense at his spelling than anything else.

        Besides, he says “Time to pick the top 30 and get them playing and playing and playing.” What’s JK supposed to do, call the managers of the 30 players and say, “Please start playing them?”

      • If we crash out hard, it will be because we don’t have the depth we thought we did. Dempsey has been in poor form and is not replaceable right now. Our starting center backs are both very green at the international level. The only player I’m even comfortable with in the back will be Cameron. Bradley, our best player left a top club in a top-4 league because he couldn’t turn down a huge payday– sucks for him as a player though. And then there’s Jozy. An in-form Altidore was part of the reason we were going to be successful this summer… So what now? There just aren’t a lot of good options at any of these positions.

        What I wouldn’t give to see the day come when we’re two deep at every position with players in EPL and Bundesliga at the least. (Or La Liga and Serie A).

    • Wow…simplistic, lacking insight, unrealistic, and complete fantasy. What games are these 23 supposed to play?

      Just like in 2010, 30 will be chosen and hopefully in camp through the game in SF. Then cut to 23 for the final two warm up games.

      Reply

Leave a Reply to bryan Cancel reply