Red Bull Academy standout Juan Agudelo continues to make headlines throughout the soccer world. A week after scoring his first goal as a New York Red Bull, Agudelo found himself at the center of attention once again, this time for the United States Men’s National Team.
The 18-year old, Barnegat, NJ native came on as a halftime sub and provided the Americans with their lone goal of the game, a game-tying tally in their 1-1 draw with Argentina. Agudelo provided an immediate spark for the Red, White and Blue, who had played a lackluster first half and were in danger of falling further behind the explosive, Messi-led Argentines.
"A roller-coaster that just keeps rising," Agudelo said after the game as he talked about his recent string of success. "You score a goal and then you get confidence to score another. I felt I was prepared. I can't ask for more, playing with guys with such skill."
Agudelo made a name for himself at the national level in November of 2010 when he made his first two caps for the Senior National Team and became the youngest player in modern USA National Team history to record a goal.
In front of 79,926 fans at the New Meadowlands Stadium on Saturday night, Agudelo injected life into a squad that had been dominated in every facet of the game in the first half and down 1-0. The United States were able to stabilize in the second half and pulled out a hard-fought draw against world power, Argentina.
“For a player who comes on for the first time, it was a good half for him,” USA Head Coach Bob Bradley said. “He helped the team and gave us a lot of momentum coming forward. His crossing, at least three or four, were good.”
As Agudelo recorded his third cap for his country’s squad, another Red Bull was hitting a milestone in terms of international appearances.
New York Red Bulls designated player Rafael Marquez earned cap number 100 on Saturday, as Mexico defeated Paraguay by a score of 3-1.
The center back was presented a statuette and a Mexican shirt with the number 100 on the back in a pregame ceremony to honor this rare achievement at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, CA. Marquez, who became just the eighth Mexican to earn 100 caps for the National Team, went on to set up teammate Andres Guardado in the 28th minute to give Mexico it’s second goal of the game,
Marquez, who captained the Mexican National Team at the 2010 World Cup, earned his first international cap 14 years ago on February 5, 1997 against Ecuador in game where he played 29 minutes.
Red Bull midfielder Dane Richards was also called into action for his native Jamaica on Friday against Venezuela in Montego Bay. Richards, who is in his fifth season with the Red Bulls, started the game and played 78 minutes before being substituted for by Francoise Swaby in Jamaica’s loss to Venezuela.
Rounding out the list of the five Red Bulls called into international action were defender Tim Ream and goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul. Neither player saw action in their games against Argentina and Cameroon respectively. Coundoul’s squad beat Cameroon by a score of 1-0 on a late Senegalese goal.
