HARRISON, N.J. – Cameron Carter-Vickers earned a start alongside Tottenham’s top defense on Tuesday night and produced several strong moments. However, it was one negative moment that stood out, and ultimately cost Tottenham a goal.
The U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team centerback was called for a handball in the 13th minute of Tottenham’s 3-2 loss to Roma at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night. The sequence was an unfortunate one for the 19-year-old centerback, who saw a Radja Nainggolan shot ricochet off his arm in the penalty area. After some deliberation, referee Hilario Grajeda called for a penalty kick, which Diego Perotti buried to give Roma the early lead.
Carter-Vickers also picked up a yellow card in his 45 minutes of action as he was called for a late caution during a battle with Eden Dzeko. After the Bosnian broke through the offside trap, he was one-on-one with the young American and a physical battle ensued. After several seconds of jostling, Dzeko essentially went down, drawing the card on Carter-Vickers.
When all was said and done, Carter-Vickers was largely solid, completing 96 percent of his passes while leading Tottenham’s first half unit with three tackles. The defender played alongside regular starts Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld as head coach Mauricio Pochettino experimented with a three-man backline.
Roma’s second goal came in the second half as substitute Cengiz Under darted onto a mishit Andreas Wimmer clearance. The 20-year-old Turkish forward buried the shot past Hugo Lloris to push the lead to 2-0.
Tottenham seemingly got a late consolation as Harry Winks fired home after Vincent Janssen hit the post in the 87th minute. Just moments later, though, Tottenham scored again as it looked like Tottenham stole a draw through a Janssen first-time finish. Roma scored again seconds later through Marco Tumminello, though, to win the match, 3-2.
Carter-Vickers and Tottenham return to action on Saturday for a match against Manchester City in Nashville.