Yanks Abroad: W-League semifinals hit high gear

With cup competitions in full force around Europe, we had several United States players appearing in two matches this past week. Siebatcheu gave his team the win in France, Novakovich got one in the Eredivisie, and Pulisic scored with a great effort in the DFB Pokal. But the Yanks had plenty on the other end of the spectrum as well. Brooks and Miazga both had errors in defense that will leave a mark on your forehead.

Things are also heating up in Australia as the W-League was playing for spots in the Grand Final this weekend. Let’s start with them:

Australia

Christine Nairn
“You can’t score if you don’t shoot!” Despite the terrible error from the keeper, Nairn’s goal is well worth the watch. But the Melbourne Victory fell in extra time to the Perth Glory in the semifinals by a score of 4-2. VIDEO

Rachel Hill
Hill scored a go-ahead goal for Perth with just a few minutes left in regulation. She waited on the back post for a looping header from point blank range. The Perth Glory will take on Sydney FC in the final on Friday. VIDEO

Sophia Huerta
She scored the decisive goal for Sydney FC as they beat the Brisbane Roar 2-1. VIDEO

Danielle Colaprico
On loan from the Chicago Red Stars, Colaprico recorded an assist for Sydney FC as they advanced to the final. VIDEO

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Germany

Weston McKennie
McKennie played every minute of both matches last week for Schalke 04. On Wednesday they eliminated Fortuna Düsseldorf from the DFB Pokal by a final of 4-1. On Saturday they traveled to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich. McKennie assisted the loan goal for the visitors, but they fell 3-1 leaving Schalke down in 14th place (seven points clear of relegation). He has established himself as a very important player to the squad and appears to be the target of their set pieces in the box. You can watch all the McKennie action in the linked video. MCKENNIE ALL TOUCHES

Christian Pulisic
Pulisic broke a dry spell and put Borussia Dortmund in front during extra time last week in a cup match against Werder Bremen. Extra time kicked the match into high gear and four goals were scored, but they were level at 3-3. Werder advanced to the next round after penalty kicks. Pulisic was then on the bench over the weekend for a 3-3 draw with Hoffenheim.

Tyler Adams
He was given the start last week in a cup match against Wolfsburg that RB Leipzig won 1-0. Adams played the entire match, but was rested on the bench for Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bobby Wood
The striker entered for Hannover in the 63rd minute of a 2-0 win over a 10-man Nurnberg side. He got 11 touches on the ball and completed five of seven passes with one chance created.

John Brooks
The centerback went 90 minutes last week in a cup match as his Wolfsburg side were beaten 1-0 by Adams’ RB Leipzig. He then played the whole match on Saturday in a 3-3 draw with Freiburg. Clearly it wasn’t a good match for anyone playing defense that day, but Brooks did have an error that immediately led to Freigburg’s first goal (at :17 seconds in the video) HIGHLIGHTS

Josh Sargent
Sargent didn’t feature last week in Werder Bremen’s cup tie with Dortmund, but he got on the field for the last two minutes of their 4-0 win on Sunday. You an watch his one touch of the ball in it’s entirety in the video below. SARGENT ALL TOUCHES

Alfredo Morales
Düsseldorf and Morales were eliminated from the DFB Pokal by Schalke last week. He played all 90 minutes and picked up a yellow card in the process. Then he came off the bench on Sunday in the 65th minute as they beat Stuttgart 3-0.

Julian Green
23-year-old Green played all 90 minutes as Greuther Fürth beat Duisburg 1-0. He fired off eight shots, four were blocked and two were on target. He had two interceptions and six recoveries but was dispossessed twice.

Andrew Wooten
He played all 90 minutes of Sandausen’s 2-0 loss to Union Berlin.

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England

Tim Ream
Fulham had the unfortunate task of facing off with red hot Manchester United on Saturday and were beaten 3-0. Ream went all 90 minutes at centerback as his side were done in by two fantastic goals and a penalty kick. He completed 41/44 passes with two clearances but was over-matched by the quality from the Red Devils.

DeAndre Yedlin
Newcastle had all three points in the bag until the final touch of the ball but Wolverhampton stole a 1-1 draw off a very weird play. Yedlin went all 90 minutes and completed 59% of his passes. Newcastle are now just one point ahead of the relegation zone.

Matt Miazga
The 23-year-old got his third straight start for Reading FC in the Championship on Saturday, playing 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday. He was 67% passing with five clearances, two interceptions, and two recoveries. He also won six of seven duels. But Miazga is not without his shaky moments. You can find him making a horrendous attempt at a back-pass to his keeper 25 seconds into the highlights below. HIGHLIGHTS

Cameron Carter-Vickers
Earning another start on Saturday, CCV went all 90 minutes and played really well. He was key in securing the shutout as Swansea City got the 1-0 win over Millwall. The centerback had six clearances, two interceptions, and five recoveries. The Youth Update has more on Carter-Vickers. HIGHLIGHTS

Duane Holmes
Holmes got the start and played 81 minutes as Derby County defeated Hull City 2-0. He completed 84% of his passes and put both his shot attempts on target. He was robbed of an assist (at 1:15 in the video below) but was lucky he didn’t cause his team to go down early after losing the ball in a terrible spot (:31). HIGHLIGHTS

Eric Lichaj
Lichaj was on the losing end of that match, going 90 minutes at centerback for Hull City in the 2-0 loss. He completed 63% of his passes with three clearances. Highlights from this one are in the video above.

Lynden Gooch
Gooch entered in the 68th minute as Sunderland drew 1-1 at Oxford United and picked up a yellow card in the short appearance. With a couple of games in hand, Sunderland are in 4th place and just five points behind automatic promotion. HIGHLIGHTS

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Scotland

Tim Weah
The Celtic man went 90 minutes on Wednesday as Celtic FC beat Hibernian FC 2-0, and then he played the final 23 minutes in the FA Cup on Sunday.

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France

Theoson Jordan Siebatcheu
The 22-year-old recorded a brace last week in the Coupe de France to lift Rennes over Lille. Read more about that match right here. Then over the weekend Siebatcheu started at striker against Saint-Etienne but was replaced after 31 minutes after picking up an injury.

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Netherlands

Andrija Novakovich
The Fortuna Sittard man provided the final nail in the coffin on Sunday in a 4-1 win over Excelsior. He completed six out of ten passes and the goal was his only shot of the match. His 19 touches were the fewest of any player to go 90 minutes.

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Belgium

Ethan Horvath
Horvath was in goal for Club Brugge’s 2-2 draw with Cercle Brugge.