U.S. National Team European Update

In England, U.S. goalkeeper Brad Friedel had a bad week at Blackburn. Celtic forced them out of the UEFA Cup with a 2-0 win sparked by Henrik Larsson's lobbing a goal over a trapped Friedel in the 15th.

Joe-Max Moore's Everton then got by 1-0 on the weekend, and Friedel is heading for surgery this week. He'll miss the next two league games as U.S. national team doctor Bert Mandelbaum cleans up his left knee. Speaking of Moore, he played 90 minutes for the reserves in Everton's 2-1 win over Bolton reserves. He has yet to return to the full squad.

Fellow keeper Kasey Keller didn't fare much better: Arsenal ravaged ninth-place Tottenham Hotspur, 3-0, to regain top place in the English Premier League. Keller, like Friedel, was blameless on the goals.

Jovan Kirovski entered in the 81st minute for Birmingham City as that team drew 0-0 with Fulham. Former Columbus Crew man Stern John muffed a penalty kick that would have given the Blues three points. ... Eddie Lewis logged a full 90 in a 3-3 draw with Grimsby Town. ... Claudio Reyna is out for the season. His Sunderland drew 0-0 at Liverpool to unseat the Reds from the top of the table.

GERMANY: Gregg Berhalter played the final 48 minutes in Energie's 2-1 win over Arminia Bielefeld. ... Conor Casey was not dressed for Hannover 96 in a 1-0 loss to Hertha Berlin; teammate Steve Cherundolo played all 90 minutes.. ... Tony Sanneh went 69 minutes for Nurnberg is a 3-1 loss to Hamburg, marking the first time he has not gone the distance for his club all season.

HOLLAND: John O'Brien is still rehabbing his Achilles, missing his eighth week as Ajax Amsterdam lost 2-1 to Inter but progressed to the second round of the Champions League anyway and then beat NEC, 6-0. on the weekend. ...

Earnest Stewart entered in the final 11 minutes for NAC Breda in their 3-0 win over Excelsior.

FRANCE: David Regis did not play again for Troyes in a 0-0 draw against Marseille. He has been absent for five weeks ... Greg Vanney did not play in Bastia's 2-0 loss to Guingamp.

SWITZERLAND: Frankie Hejduk did not dress for St. Gallen; his side lost 2-0 to Neuchatel Xamax.

Details

ENGLAND

Brad Friedel
Blackburn Rovers FC, English Premier League
Last match:   [Nov. 14] played 90 minutes in 0-2 loss v.Celtic, UEFA Cup 2nd round, 2nd leg; [Nov. 17] played 90 minutes in 0-1 loss v. Everton
Next Match: [Nov. 23] @ Charlton Athletic
League position: 8 (last week: 7)

STATBOX
League                               League Cup                       UEFA CUP                          TOTALS
GP:GS   W-L-D   GAA     GP:GS    W/L/D  GAA      GP:GS    W/L/D   GAA        GP:GS    W/L/D    GAA
14/14      5-4-5      1.00          0/0         0/0/0/    -              4/4         0-2-2     1.75          18/18       5-6-7      1.17

QUICK HITS

• A dismal home performance saw Blackburn drop out of UEFA Cup competition, Celtic's Henrik Larsson and Chris Strutton striking in the 0-2 loss
  
• Rovers are winless in their last six matches in all competitions, failing to take full points since Oct. 26
• First consecutive losses for Friedel since Aug.31-Sept.11 matches
  
• Friedel underwent knee surgery hours after the defeat to Everton, the U.S. international expected to be sidelined 2-4 weeks

• Keller and Spurs dropped consecutive decisions for only the second time in the campaign
  
• Spurs are scoreless in three consecutive matches, the longest scoring drought of the campaign
  
• Tottenham are winless in their last four league matches, slipping in the EPL standings for the third straight week
• Spurs look to rebound against Leeds at the friendly confines of White Hart Lane, where they hold a 4-1-1 record
  

• Kirovski played his first league minutes since Sept. 28 v. Newcastle United
• Former Columbus Crew forward Stern John missed a PK that could have given Birmingham three points
  
• The Blues have been held scoreless in their last three matches in all competitions
  
• Birmingham City travels to Sunderland in search of their second road win of the season
  

• Preston scored two goals in the final ten minutes to secure their league-leading 9th draw of the season 
• PNE have scored 28 goals on the season, four times netting three or more goals in a game.
  
• The Lilywhites next host bottom dwellars Brighton at Deepdale this weekend
  

• Moore played 90 minutes for the reserves in their 2-1 win against Bolton on Nov. 11
• Everton added to their club record winning streak, which now stands at five straight, racking up four straight 1-0 shutout victories 
• Everton host last-place West Brom at Goodison Park, where they are unbeaten in 2002-03, posting a 4-0-2 record
  

• Reyna suffered torn ACL in 39th minute of 1-1 draw v. Bolton and will be sidelined for the remainder of the season
  
• Reyna scheduled to undergo knee surgery later today
  
• Sunderland are unbeaten in their last five matches in all competitions, posting consecutive clean sheets in league matches for the first time this season
• The well-earned draw couldn't stop the Black Cats from falling to 17th in the table
  

• Berhalter entered just before halftime in first Cottbus home victory of the campaign
  
• Victory snaps eight-game winless run and lifts Cottbus out of the Bundesliga basement after five weeks
• Run into a stodgy Hamburg side next weekend, the home team a solid 5-1-0 at the Volksparkstadion
  

• Not listed in the team sheet for Hannover's first defeat in four matches
  
• Loss drops Hannover back to 15th place in the table
  

• Despite setting a club record for shots on goal, Hannover's prolific attack silenced for the first time since 0-3 loss to Dortmund on Oct. 5
• Hannover runs into another top 10 opponent, traveling to sixth-place Stuttgart who are an unblemished 3-0-3 at home in the campaign
  

• Gibbs becoming a regular fixture in the first team, going the distance for his fifth straight match
  
• St. Pauli have been held scoreless in five of last six matches in all competitions
• St. Pauli will complete the trio of matches against the league's elite today with match against second place FC Koln, before heading to Burghausen this Sunday
  

• Sanneh played 69 minutes in the right midfield spot, marking the first time this season he has not played the full 90 minutes
  
• Loss breaks up three-match unbeaten run in league play, dropping Nurnberg back to 12th place and just two points clear of the relegation zone
• Head to Munich on the weekend, facing an 1860 side that is 4-1-1 at the Muncher Olympiastadion
  

• Sidelined two months since suffering achilles injury in 70th minute of 3-2 win against Roosendaal on Sept. 21
• Ajax advance to the second group phase of the Champions League in spite of 1-2 home loss to Inter Milan; now placed in Group D with Roma, Valencia and Arsenal
• Five different goal scorers send Ajax soaring past NEC 6-0 at the Amsterdam ArenA, lifting Ajax three points clear at the Dutch Eredivisie summit
  

• Stewart entered in the 79th minute of Breda's second straight shutout in league play
  
• Breda have recorded eight clean sheets in 12 league matches, surrendering only eight goals during the campaign
• Despite the victory, Breda fall to 6th place in the league table, but will look to move back up in the ranks against bottom dwellers De Graafschap next weekend
  

• Regis has not appeared in the last five matches for Troyes
• Draw away to fifth-place Marseille gives Troyes points from two consecutive matches for the first time since late August
  
• Next welcome Sedan to the Stade l'Aube, the visitors carrying only one road win on the season
  

• Did not appear on the team sheet in the team's second home loss of the season
• Second straight defeat drops Bastia another spot in the table, falling to 15th
  
• Bastia remain impotent on the road, carrying an abysmal 0-6-1 record into next weekend's encounter with Montpellier
  

• Hedjuk did not dress for St. Gallen's second consecutive league defeat
• St. Gallen have surrendered 19 goals in their last three league losses
  
• Will hope to end the misery against third-place BSC Young Boys

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