USMNT Watch: Lynden Gooch Debuts for Sunderland, Carter-Vickers Staying at Spurs
The young players in the United States men's national team talent pool made a ton of noise this weekend, especially in England.
The start of the Premier League season brought a surprise start for Lynden Gooch and a good sign in the development of Cameron Carter-Vickers.
There was also good news on the injury front this week as Aron Johannsson made a big step in his recovery.
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We'll have more on those stories and more below in our latest USMNT Watch.
Lynden Gooch Makes Sunderland Debut in Premier League Opener
USMNT youth international Lynden Gooch was unexpectedly named to the Sunderland starting XI for the Premier League opener against Manchester City on Saturday.
The 20-year-old midfielder played 65 minutes in the Black Cats' 2-1 defeat at the Etihad Stadium.
If Gooch receives more first-team time from new Sunderland boss David Moyes in the future, it will be a good sign for the youngster's national team prospects.
Gooch is still a little while away from securing a spot on the USMNT roster, but playing consistently in the Premier League will make that happen sooner.
Another American youngster made an appearance on the matchday squad of a Premier League side on Saturday as Carter-Vickers was on the bench in Tottenham Hotspur's 1-1 draw with Everton.
According to Jack Pitt-Brooke of The Independent, Carter-Vickers will be staying with Spurs so he can develop further under manager Mauricio Pochettino. If the 18-year-old center back earns valuable time with the Spurs' first team, his stock could rise faster than expected as well.
DeAndre Yedlin was not in the matchday squad for Spurs, as was Brad Guzan in Middlesbrough's return to the English top flight. Geoff Cameron did not play in the 1-1 draw between Stoke City and Boro at the Riverside Stadium on Saturday.
Down in the Championship, Eric Lichaj did not play for Nottingham Forest in their 3-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion on Friday.
Danny Williams started and played the full 90 for Reading in their 2-0 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Tim Ream came on as a late substitute in Fulham's 2-1 victory over Preston North End, and Jonathan Spector played the entire match for Birmingham City in their 2-1 road win over Leeds United.
Jerome Kiesewetter, Andrew Wooten Start in Germany
Two promising forwards in the 2.Bundesliga started for their respective sides on Friday.
Jerome Kiesewetter, who is pushing himself up the USMNT depth chart at striker, played the first 73 minutes of Fortuna Dusseldorf's 1-0 win over Stuttgart. Fortuna sit second in the table on four points after two matches.
Down at the other end of the table, Andrew Wooten played 60 minutes for Sandhausen in their 2-0 loss to Erzgebirge Aue. Sandhausen are 13th with one point after two weeks in the German second flight.
Both players are worth keeping an eye on throughout the season as USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann tries to round out his forward rotation behind Jozy Altidore and Bobby Wood. Kiesewetter and Wooten will most likely compete for one of the final forward spots with Julian Green in the future.
Aron Johannsson Returns to Action for Werder Bremen
Another boost to the USMNT forward depth chart came on Wednesday as Johannsson returned to action after a long injury absence.
Johannsson, who has 19 appearances since his debut in 2013, played the second half for Werder Bremen in their friendly against SV Meppen.
The 25-year-old Alabama-born forward also played the closing stanza of Bremen's final preseason match versus Ingolstadt on Saturday.
Johannsson still has some work to do to reach full fitness, but once he does, he'll be in the conversation for the 23-man roster once again.
His competition at forward at Bremen this season includes Claudio Pizarro, Max Kruse and Lennart Thy.
Alejandro Bedoya Makes MLS Debut in Union's Blowout Win
Alejandro Bedoya, who joined the Philadelphia Union from Nantes at the end of the MLS summer transfer window, opened his MLS career with a 72-minute shift in a holding midfield role in a 4-0 win over New England.
C.J. Sapong, who is an under-the-radar forward to watch in the upcoming weeks and months, opened the scoring for the Union at Gillette Stadium in the second minute.
Ethan Finlay bagged a brace for the Columbus Crew in their wild 3-3 draw with New York City FC. Finlay scored from the spot in the 80th minute and netted the equalizer in the 95th minute.
Sacha Kljestan extended his league lead atop the assist chart on Saturday, as he provided his 13th handout of the season on the first of Bradley Wright-Phillips' two strikes in the New York Red Bulls' 3-1 victory over Montreal at Red Bull Arena.
Tim Howard made five saves in Colorado's 1-1 draw with LA Galaxy at StubHub Center. Gyasi Zardes and Sebastian Lletget earned starts for the Galaxy.
Darlington Nagbe earned another start for the Portland Timbers on Saturday at RFK Stadium against D.C. United. Steve Birnbaum featured for the entire match for D.C. in their 2-0 victory.
Chris Wondolowski and Tim Parker went 90 minutes for their respective sides in San Jose's 2-1 win over Vancouver to open the weekend of action across MLS.
News and Notes
Michael Orozco started for Club Tijuana in their Friday night win over Club Leon. The defender played the full 90, while Paul Arriola came off the bench for a 19-minute shift at the Estadio Caliente.
William Yarbrough, who is trying to work his way back up the goalkeeper depth chart, conceded twice for Leon in the defeat.
Rubio Rubin continued his starting run for Utrecht on Friday as he played 73 minutes in the 2-2 Eredivisie draw with Heerenveen.
Joe Tansey covers U.S. Soccer for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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