Jonathan Spector helped the United States to beat Canada and earn a place at this summer's Olympics in Beijing.
The 22-year-old played the whole 90 minutes in central defence as the US ran out 3-0 winners in Nashville, Tennessee on Thursday night. The victory secured Peter Nowak's side one of two CONCACAF qualifying berths for the Games. Spector then headed straight back to England to link up with his club-mates in time for Saturday evening's Barclays Premier League fixture at Everton. The Olympics will be played between 8-24 August.
Freddy Adu, the Benfica forward, scored twice for the US with free-kicks in the 27th and 48th minutes before Sacha Kljestan wrapped things up 12 minutes from time with a shot from close range. Spector's display earned plenty of plaudits with team-mate Marvell Wynne, one of the country's brightest young defensive talents, full of praise. Speaking to the US Soccer official website, said: "He's a great organiser and he kept our line very nice - tight when it had to be and spread out when it had to be. He was great for all the balls in the air and helped passing balls up to the forwards. He was a big part of our tactical awareness."