By Phil Schoen

The final round of World Cup qualifying for the United States kicks off with a bang this Friday. The U.S. faces Mexico in the opening match of CONCACAF’s hexagonal before heading to Costa Rica for a Tuesday night encounter to be broadcast on beIN SPORTS.

Eighteen of the 26 players called in play abroad, while Brooks, Green, Carter-Vickers, Gooch, Horvath and Yarbrough are looking to get their first WCQ cap. And while Green made his national team debut in a 2014 friendly against Mexico, there were several surprises on the list of players called in to camp by U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann.

While he might have lost his starting job at Norway’s Molde down the stretch, Ethan Horvath joins stalwarts Tim Howard and Brad Guzan among the goalkeepers called up. Mexico-based William Yarbrough rounds out the foursome.

Eintracht Frankfurt right back Timmy Chandler continues his comeback, while 18-year-old Tottenham defender Cameron Carter-Vickers gets a look. John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Orozco (Tijuana) and DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle) round out the foreign-based defenders.

If Carter-Vickers wasn’t the biggest surprise, that would go to 23-year-old Michigan defensive midfielder Caleb Stanko. He’s on loan from Germany’s Freiburg to Liechtenstein’s Vaduz, currently mired in last place in the Swiss Super League. Stanko made his national team debut back in September against Trinidad & Tobago. Sunderland’s Lynden Gooch joins the Bundesliga duo of Julian Green (Bayern Munich) and Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund) on the roster for the next two matches.Hamburg’s Bobby Wood is no surprise up front, but Werder Bremen’s Aron Johannsson has been limited to a single 20-minute appearance off the bench over the past two months while recovering from a groin injury. It’s Johannsson’s first camp appearance in over a year.

In a follow-up to last week’s youth international moves, Ben Lederman has already made the move back to Barcelona. Lederman acquired a Polish passport last month which will allow him to train with his old La Masia team, but he won’t be able to be registered to play until January. Lederman joined the club when he was 11, but a FIFA ruling on youth transfers meant he was ineligible to play for Barcelona’s youth teams two years ago. With the new passport, he will be eligible to resume his La Masia career when the new registration window opens in January.

Meanwhile, Lederman’s former teammate John Hilton signed on with the LA Galaxy’s youth academy, little more than a week after his move to Ajax was ruled off by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

COLOMBIA

Patriotas Boyaca fell at home 1-0 against Once Caldas. Texas-born Tigres loanee Uvaldo Luna came off the bench at halftime, but couldn’t spark the comeback. The loss proved costly, as it allowed Millonarios to leap over Patriotas into the final playoff spot with a one point edge and only one game remaining in the regular season. Patriotas closes the regular campaign with a derby visit to last-placed Boyaca Chico, while Millionarios host second placed Medellin.

ENGLAND

In the Championship, DeAndre Yedlin got another start at right back, and continues to get forward in the Magpies attack. The former Sounder set up Yoann Gouffran with the game-clinching goal in a 2-1 win over Cardiff City.

National team midfielder Danny Williams and Reading with the clean sheet at Wigan Athletic, 3-0. It was the third straight win for the Royals who climb up to fourth in the table.

After shining with the reserves, LA Galaxy-loanee Jack McBean finally made his first team debut for Coventry City. McBean came off the bench in a 1-1 draw at Morecambe in FA Cup first-round play. The 21-year-old California native started the second half and helped the Sky Blues fight back for the draw and force a replay.

Following another goal for Liverpool’s u23 team in European play, Brooks Lennon is set to step in for the first team following yet another injury to Danny Ings. The RSL Academy product found the net in Liverpool’s 1-1 Premier League Cup draw against fellow American Erik Palmer Brown and Porto B.

FRANCE

In u19 action, PSG’s Timothy Weah found the net in a 2-2 draw with Valenciennes. The Parisians stand sixth in Group A of the national championship after 11 rounds with a game in hand, and the 16-year-old New York City-native is the son of former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah, and has proven to be a consistent scorer, even against players three years his senior.

Watch the highlights here.

GERMANY

Another game, another step forward for Christian Pulisic. While Pierre Emrick Aubameyang grabbed the headlines for his four-goal return from suspension in a 5-2 road win at last-place Hamburg, Pulisic set up the last goal and now has four assists on the season. That’s tied for third among the Bundesliga assist leaders this season. HSV was without U.S. striker Bobby Wood, serving the first of his three-game suspension for elbowing.

Timmy Chandler set up the lone goal in a 1-0 win for Eintracht Frankfurt over Cologne. With the win, Eintracht draws level on points with fifth-placed Dortmund.

Another clean sheet for John Brooks and Hertha Berlin with a 3-0 win over fellow national team defender Fabian Johnson, who came in as a first-half substitute. The victory lifts Hertha to third in the table.

While RB Leipzig has claimed a share of the top-spot in the Bundesliga, U.S. forward Terrence Boyd continues his comeback. Boyd found the net in Leipzig II’s 1-1 draw at Budissa Bautzen.

In the second division, Andrew Wooten scored his fifth of the season to help Sandhausen comeback against 1860 Munich, 3-2. Wooten got an assist on the first goal and has scored in five of his last six matches. Sandhausen stand 10th, six points out of the promotion spots with 12 matches played.

In Regionalliga play, Stuttgart II midfielder Joel Soñora scored in a 2-2 draw at Kickers Offenbach. It was the third goal of the season for the 20-year-old Dallas-native, the son of former MLS star Diego Soñora. Ex-LA Galaxy forward Brian Gaul played the full 90 for Kickers, while former UCLA Bruin Matt Taylor came off the bench for the final 15 minutes.

Elsewhere, Boston native and former LA Galaxy forward Charlie Rugg scored his first of the season for Pirmasens in a 1-1 road draw at Steinbach.

In the u19 Bundesliga, potential Real Madrid target Tim Tillmann scored his third goal of the season, an 89thminute equalizer for Bayern Munich. It wasn’t enough as Stuttgart scored the winner a minute later. And Weston McKennie captained Schalke to a 4-1 win over Rot Weiss Essen. The Texan scored his second of the season as Schalke climbed to second in the table. Haji Wright played the full 90 in the win.

ITALY

In Primavera play, Fiorentina edged Sampdoria 1-0 on a magical goal from Josh Perez. The 18-year-old nephew of former U.S. soccer star Hugo Perez scored an olimpico from the corner.

MEXICO

One game left to go in the regular season and two Yanks playing south of the border suffered stumbles on the weekend. Michael Orozco and Tijuana fell to Tigres 1-0, while Omar Gonzalez and Pachuca lost 3-2 against Cruz Azul. Midfielder Jose Torres did not play for UNAM in the loss against the Xolos. Tijuana has a three-point lead over los Tuzos heading into the final round.

National team goalkeeper William Yarbrough was in net for Club Leon’s 1-1 draw with Chivas of Guadalajara. The dropped points allowed Toluca to leap over Leon for the final playoff berth with one match remaining in the regular season. Toluca beat Queretaro 3-2, with Jonathan Bornstein playing the full 90, just three days after helping the Roadrunners to a penalty kick win over Chivas in the Copa MX Final.

NORWAY

St. Louis-native Cole Grossman helped Stabaek dodge the drop, setting up the first goal in a 3-0 win over IK Start. New Jersey’s Alex De John got started for the relegated visitors. Coupled with champion Rosenberg’s 2-1 win over Bodo/Glimt, Stabaek needs to beat the winner of the second division playoff to stay in the Eliteserien.

PORTUGAL

Midfielder Keaton Parks played another full 90 as the North Texas native helped Varzim edged Uniao Madeira 2-1. The win lifts Vardim a point clear of the relegation zone.

SCOTLAND

Perry Kitchen wore the armband for Hearts and Bjorn Johnsen got the start in a 2-2 home draw against St. Johnstone. With their second straight draw, and winless in their last three, Hearts slips to fourth in the Premiership.

SPAIN

Mukwelle Akale continues to play for Villarreal’s reserve team, but this week he took another step towards a La Liga debut. The 19-year-old Minnesota native has been training with the first team, and his father was there to witness it all.

Akale isn’t the only Yank trying to break through in Spain. Promising defender Shaq Moore has been shining with Levante’s B team, and the Powder Springs, Georgia native helped the Granote to a 2-0 win over Llagostera. After opening the season with four straight losses, Levante B has now gone nine in a row without defeat.

SWEDEN

Helsingborg is also headed to a playoff in their bid to survive in the Allsvenskan. Matt Pyzdrowski kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win over Jonkopings Sodra to avoid the automatic drop. It was the third shutout of the season for the 30-year-old from Illinois. The former Marquette star shared the gloves with former Canadian national team goalkeeper Tomer Chencinski through the season. Helsingborg will need to beat Halmstad, who finished third in the Superettan, in a home-and-home series to stay in the top-flight.

Sirius and AFC United finished ahead of Halmstad in the Superettan to earn automatic promotion. AFC earned the 2-0 road shutout at Halmstad, the 16th clean sheet of the season for former DC United keeper Josh Wicks. Ex-MLS youngster Tristan Bowen played the last eight minutes off the bench to ensure the win. Patrick Hopkins got the start for Sirius in a 2-1 season-ending loss against Dalkurd that was still good enough to clinch the second division title by a single goal over AFC.

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