It was a big weekend for U.S. men's national team stars playing in Europe, but the biggest winner wasn't one of the usual suspects. Rather, it was a seldom-used midfielder, who went toe-to-toe with the best midfield in the world - and outplayed them.
We're talking about Johnny Cardoso, who scored a dream-defying goal in Real Betis' win over Real Madrid Saturday. Few teams get the better of Madrid and few can say they really deserved it. Not this time. Cardoso and Betis were deserved winners, with the American putting together a performance that could change the trajectory of his career for club and country.
Chris Richards was a big winner, too, as was Antonee Robinson - both defenders helped their sides to victory in the FA Cup. The USMNT's attackers largely struggled, though, with goals relatively hard to find this weekend. Gio Reyna, given another start, never got particularly close. Christian Pulisic didn't either. Josh Sargent, who has scored so often in recent weeks, was actually held quiet.
It was an up-and-down series of matches but, in many ways, it was one defined by Cardoso, who made a loud enough statement to make up for even the worst moments for Americans Abroad this weekend.
GOAL looks at the major takeaways from this weekend's Americans Abroad.
