Note: Will Johnson and Jean Alexandre's statistics were off (Will played 20 minutes on Friday, Jean played 90 yesterday). This was a bit of an oversight on my part. Much thanks to the club for setting me straight on this matter.
Ah, that ever-pestering international break is over and we can back to our real focus: club football! Don’t get me wrong, it was nice to see Kyle Beckerman come in at the half and leave the pitch looking like the best player for the stars and stripes, but given the difficulty of watching some of the other matches, it’s all much better being over. We can now start tallying the injuries if, indeed, there are any. How’s ‘bout an international roundup, then?
International Roundup
Kyle Beckerman
Sept. 6, U.S. v Belgium (45 minutes)
“Oh, hey, it’s that dreadlocked guy.” I’m sure this is something close to what most people thought when our captain entered the fray, and it seems many dismissed him as not good enough for the national side. If today’s match and his last match for the Stars and Stripes — 90 minutes against Mexico — didn’t prove to most that he’s a capable midfielder who, while lacking a bit of pace, has good instincts and a smart head on his shoulders to complement his effective passing — well, I suppose nothing will prove it, will it? He’d have to start banging in goals on a regular basis.
U.S. v Belgium, Friendly
Arturo Alvarez
Sept. 2, El Salvador v. Dominican Republic (35 minutes)
Sept. 6, El Salvador v. Cayman Islands (34 minutes)
Arturo only played a total of about 70 minutes, and hopefully that wasn’t because of injury worries. I’d imagine he’ll be fit and raring to go for the Claret and Cobalt, especially as he was sacrificed when last he played after the red card madness Nat Borchers suffered.
Check out video from both of Arturo’s matches below, if just because you’d like to experience the 1980s highlight reel goodness. I think I saw Arturo Alvarez make some good runs, but I’m not entirely sure it was him.
El Salvador v. Dominican Republic, WCQ 2014
El Salvador v. Cayman Islands, WCQ 2014
Will Johnson
Sept. 2, Canada v. St. Lucia (21 minutes)
Sept. 6, Canada v. Puerto Rico (90 minutes)
Will Johnson came through 90 minutes yesterday without apparent issue for Canada, hooray! But more importantly for him, he scored the final goal in the 20 minutes he played of the 4-1 rout of little Carribean island nation Saint Lucia. It was a nice little tap-in from a knock-down header, and hopefully it does wonders for his confidence.
Canada v. Saint Lucia, WCQ 2014
Jean Alexandre
Sept. 2, Haiti v. U.S. Virgin Islands (90 minutes)
Sept. 6, Haiti v. Curacao (90 minutes)
Jean Alexandre put two away for Haiti against the U.S. Virgin Islands but didn’t feature in their match against Curacao. Those two goals marked his first goals for country, and hopefully that’ll help in his development. Also, you may get a kick out of this brilliant video — I think the program actually used TV footage … filmed by a camcorder.
Haiti v. U.S. Virgin Islands, WCQ 2014
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