Yanks Abroad: Men of the Matches

It’s been a busy week for the Americans playing abroad. It feels like this list grows every single time I put it together! While I was checking up on everyone this week, I noticed something pretty cool: four different Americans were named Man of the Match by FotMob - Weston McKennie, Bobby Wood, Geoff Cameron, and Romain Gall. They have an algorithm that uses over 100 individual statistics from Opta and it spits out player ratings, awarding the highest score as Man of the Match. So take this with a grain of salt, it is definitely far from perfect. (Disclaimer: I work for FotMob.)

I’ve added an asterisk to the players who were just called up. Normally, I do not include someone if they didn’t get on the pitch, but I added a list at the bottom including those players who were named to the most recent squad.

There was plenty more to catch up on from the weekend, but not all was good. Here are the highs and lows:

Germany

Weston McKennie
McKennie wins this week. After scoring his first goal in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, he put another one home on Saturday for his first Bundesliga goal. Unfortunately, he also picked up an injury and will miss the upcoming friendlies for the United States. The goals are below, but read more on McKennie in our Youth Update.

Bobby Wood
After getting an assist last week, Wood recorded a brace over the weekend at home for Hannover in a 3-1 win against Stuttgart. Both goals came off his head, the first one in brilliant fashion.

Alfredo Morales
28-year-old Morales was on the other side of the field against McKennie for Fortuna Düsseldorf in the 2-0 loss. He completed 50% of his passes and committed four fouls.

John Brooks
Brooks went the full 90 at centerback for Wolfsburg’s 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen. He had an 84% passing rate with seven accurate long balls. The big man also had three interceptions and four clearances.

Julian Green
The Gruether Fürth man played all 90 minutes in the midfield for a 1-1 draw with Jahn Regensburg. He picked up a yellow card but played pretty well. He finished with 74% passing and won all of his tackles, but was dispossessed once.

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England

Geoff Cameron
Cameron was one of the best on the pitch in Queens Park Rangers’ 1-1 draw with Derby County. Not that he was particularly fantastic, because nobody played very well for either side. Still, he was making nice tackles and winning duels. He had four interceptions and two key passes as well. He also cleaned up a mess for the equalizer in the 48th minute.

DeAndre Yedlin*
What a match this was. I’m partial to the blue side of Manchester, but it was just a fun match to watch. Yedlin and Newcastle were up 2-0 in the 10th minute but gave up three second-half goals to give Manchester United three points (and pump life back into their manager). Up against a lot of talent - and money - Yedlin completed just 8 of 12 passes (one key pass). He added four clearances and three interceptions. In the 63rd minute, Yedlin did well to burst past Paul Pogba with the ball. Unfortunately, the Frenchman then put his studs down the back of Yedlin’s leg and received a yellow card.

Tim Ream
Ream and Fulham are sitting down in 17th place - just above the relegation zone - after a brutal 5-1 beating from Arsenal. They tried a three-man back line, with Ream playing in the middle. But when they went down 2-1, Ream was subbed out in the 57th minute in an attacking change and Fulham switched to four men in the back. Fulham then conceded three more goals. Keep the American on the pitch.

Antonee Robinson*
It was a tough day for Robinson, who was on the field for all 90 minutes of a 4-0 loss to Preston North End. He completed just 56% of his passes and committed an error that led to a goal. His attempted clearance missed and he was nutmegged on the assisting pass. VIDEO

Eric Lichaj
Lichaj lined up on the left side of a three-man back line and played the full 90 minutes for Hull City’s 1-0 loss to Sheffield United. He had three clearances, two interceptions and completed 33 of 44 pass attempts.

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Scotland

Emerson Hyndman
The 22-year-old scored in the 39th minute of Hibernian FC’s 6-0 shellacking of Hamilton Academical. He was subbed out in the 66th. More on him in the Youth Update.

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Sweden

Romain Gall
Gall bagged another goal on Sunday, bringing his total to 11 this season (his fourth since joining Malmö). The 23-year-old was all over the pitch, with six shots on goal, three of them on target. He was 16 of 19 on pass attempts and added three interceptions as well. He played well, but his 7.9 rating is about the lowest I have seen to win of Man of the Match. VIDEO

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Mexico

Omar Gonzalez
He scored the lone goal for Atlas, who fell to Santos 3-1. VIDEO

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France

Matt Miazga*
Nantes were shut out at Bordeaux by a final of 3-0, with Miazga going the distance. His defining moment came in the 41st minute when he picked up a yellow card and conceded a penalty with a missed tackle on the edge of the box. VIDEO

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Denmark

Jonathan Amon*
First of all, I challenge you to watch Amon react to being named to the USMNT squad and not be charmed by the wholesomeness. On Sunday he went the distance for Nordsjælland, who were defeated 3-2 by Hobro. He completed just 62% of his passes but had a decent day. He was 6/6 with take-ons and did well on the offensive end.

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Spain

Shaq Moore
Down in the Segunda Division, Shaq went 59 minutes at right back for Reus before subbing out. They lost at home to Granada 2-1.

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Netherlands

Andrija Novakovich*
His Fortuna Sittard side are out of the relegation qualification zone, but only on goal differential. Novakovich will have to be better than his performance against FC Emmen on Sunday. He started at striker and did not even take one shot in 90 minutes and lost 15 of 18 duels. He completed 8 of 11 passes and was credited with one key pass. The matched ended in a 3-3 draw.

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Belgium

Kenny Saief*
The 24-year-old played came off the bench in the 66th minute of Anderlecht’s 2-0 UEFA Europa League Group Stage loss to Dinamo Zagreb. In 28 touches completed all 12 of his passes on the day. Then on Sunday, Saief went the first 68 minutes of their 2-1 win over Zulte-Waregem. Anderlecht sit in 3rd place, five points behind Horvath’s Club Brugge.

Brendan Hines-Ike
He went 90 minutes for Kortrijk in a 3-1 win over Lokeren. It was a big three points for Kortrijk, who jumped two spots in the crowded bottom of the First Division A.

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Switzerland

Kekuta Manneh
After leaving MLS in last December, Manneh made just one measly eight-minute appearance for Pachuca. In June, he moved to St. Gallen in the Super League (joining another former MLS player, Jordi Quintilla). He got his first two starts in September, but was unable to secure his spot. On Saturday, he subbed on for the final ten minutes of their 3-1 loss to Basel.

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Did Not Play

Cameron Carter-Vickers*
He’s on loan from Tottenham Hotspur at Swansea City in the Championship. CCV has not appeared in the last four matches.

Ethan Horvath*
Horvath had locked down the starting keeper job last season for Club Brugge, but has been on the bench this year (including in the Champions League). He has yet to make his debut this season.

Josh Sargent*
Sargent was not in the lineup for Werder Bremen II over the weekend.

Tim Weah*
The Paris Saint-Germain youngster did not make the 18 over the weekend, nor has he since August 18. But he has some decent competition there...