FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – While the New England Revolution were busy introducing Brad Friedel as the seventh head coach in club history early this week, four of the club’s players were off representing their countries in international friendlies.
Juan Agudelo started and played 59 minutes on the left wing in the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 1-1 draw in Portugal, displaying strong holdup play in limited touches on the ball. Kelyn Rowe, meanwhile, was an unused substitute at Estádio Dr. Magalhães Pessoa, but the camp was still a critical exercise for the 25-year-old midfielder as he continues to build his fitness following a two-month injury absence.
Krisztián Németh made a pair of appearances for Hungary – his first since last November – starting and playing 63 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Luxembourg before seeing 14 minutes off the bench in Hungary’s 1-0 win over CONCACAF opponent Costa Rica. Chicago Fire forward and MLS Golden Boot winner Nemanja Nikolić scored both goals for the Hungarians.
Zach Herivaux continued to emerge as an option for Haiti, coming on in the 55th minute of their 1-0 win over the United Arab Emirates. Initially the Haitians had been scheduled to face both Saudi Arabia and Equatorial Guinea, but that plan was changed in recent weeks.
The next official international break isn’t until late March, although the USMNT has already announced a late January friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina as part of their annual January camp.
