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.
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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.