Steve Birnbaum logged a goal and an assist in just his second international appearance and Jozy Altidore picked up his 32nd career international goal as the U.S. national team opened the new year with a 3-2 win over Iceland in an international friendly on Sunday at StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.
Birnbaum scored the game-winner off a header from a Michael Bradley free kick in the 90th minute, and picked up an assist on a goal for defender Michael Orozco in the 60th. Altidore scored in the 20th minute off an another assist from Bradley after Iceland grabbed the early lead on a USMNT defensive miscue.
Seattle Sounders captain Brad Evans started and played the first half before he was taken out at the break. USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann told ESPN at halftime that Evans – who picked up his 26th career cap and his first start since last summer – came out after complaining of hamstring tightness, but noted it was nothing serious.
Evans had a relatively quiet first half, clearing away a minor Iceland chance on the counterattack in the 25th minute. He also had a decent scoring chance in the 31st minute, but he pounded a header wide of the mark off a corner kick from Bradley.
Evans was one of a handful of veterans in the starting lineup with an otherwise young group of aspiring US hopefuls. It was his first appearance since he came on as a late substitute against Mexico in the CONCACAF Cup in October, and his first start since the US lost to Jamaica in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup last July.
Sounders forward and Mercer Island native Jordan Morris picked up his eighth career cap, coming on as a substitute for Altidore in the 75th minute. Morris signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Sounders earlier this month and joined the USMNT camp in California in progress on Jan. 22.
Morris got a close but crowded look in the the 81st minute with a shot from inside the six-yard box that deflected off an Iceland defender for a corner kick. He also beat Iceland goalkeeper Ogmundur Kristinsson to a loose ball in the in 85th minute, but his pass to set up midfielder Lee Nguyen for a scoring chance was intercepted by the Iceland back line.
Iceland took a 1-0 lead off the foot of former Columbus Crew SC winger Kristinn Steindorsson, who scored in the 14th minute with a shot that deflected off of Orozco and past helpless goalkeeper Luis Robles.
Their second goal came just minutes after Evans was pulled. Iceland left midfielder Aron Sigurdarson took advantage of a quick free kick near midfield and beat Birnbaum to the inside, curling a right-footed shot past Robles for the goal.
The USMNT will finish off the January camp with an international friendly against Canada on Friday at StubHub Center. Evans and Morris are expected to join the Sounders’ preseason training at some point thereafter, either during the team’s time in Arizona or later in the month before the squad heads to southern California.
