Bobby Wood is scoring huge goals for Hamburg, and that could be big for the USMNT
Hamburger SV may be going through their share of struggles this season, but they have had one rather consistent bright spot: striker Bobby Wood.
The American again showed just how important he is to the Bundesliga side on Sunday with an important game-winner. The goal, which lifted Hamburg to a 2-1 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach, saved Hamburg from falling into an automatic relegation spot:
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While the goal certainly came with a bit of luck – the deflection on that pass into the box actually helped it along – Wood showed a lot of composure. After getting taken down in the box, he sprung back up to receive the pass, beat defender Jannik Vestergaard with a quick change of feet and fired a well-place shot.
Wood's strike leaves Hamburg out of an automatic relegation place as they fight to stay up. They now sit in 16th place, which would put Hamburg in a relegation playoff, but they could climb out of that soon, too. Hamburg are tied with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg on points, but sit behind them on the table on goal differential so if they can get ahead of either, they're safe.
Wood has been playing well this season and proven he belongs in his first Bundesliga season. Sunday was a virtual must-win for Hamburg and Wood rose to the occasion showing he can deliver when the stakes are high.
That can only be a positive thing for the U.S. national team, which has its own virtual must-win later this month. After two losses to open World Cup qualifying, another vs. Honduras on March 24 would very worrying. Wood, who looks like a good candidate to start for the Americans in whatever formation manager Bruce Arena chooses, is heating up at just the right time.
Wood has now scored five goals for Hamburg this season in league play – 9 goals across all competitions for Hamburg since joining the club in May. For the USMNT, he has eight goals in 29 appearances.
With the way he is playing lately, Arena might thinking Wood can get another one when the USMNT needs it the most.
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